Czech Republic Set to Favour Research Excellence

The quarterly magazine from EUREKA. Supporting your R&D business

85 JUly 2009 Czech Republic set to favour research excellence

SME support essential for European competitiveness and employment

Arndt Kirchhoff: Project showcase: wireless vehicle informa- Hungarian MEP Zsolt Becsey would like “Innovation is only good if marketed!” tion network to improve traffic safety to see more flexibility in SME support

www.eurekanetwork.org EUREKA Table of contents

EUREKA is a European network for market-oriented R&D. Its 2 – 3 Editorial aim is to strengthen European competitiveness by promoting Innovation must lead the way in market-driven collaborative research and challenging times technological development. EUREKA enables industry, universities and research institutes from 38 member countries and 4 – 6 News in brief the EU to collaborate in a ‘bottom-up’ approach to developing and exploiting innovative technologies.

EUREKA News is published four times a year in English, French, German, Italian 7 Project showcase and Spanish. An online version is available on www.eurekanetwork.org Driving on the safe side – Wireless vehicle information network to improve traffic safety Publisher: Luuk Borg Editorial Coordinator: Eleni Seriatou Contributions: Sally Alger, Paul McCallum 8 - 9 Country focus and JWA Prague s.r.o. Design: Busybee Czech Republic set to favour research Translations: Berlitz excellence Printing: Artoos Photography: with thanks to EUREKA project participants and JWA Prague s.r.o. 10 research Connection for any assistance and material provided in the production of this issue. Huge opportunities for SMEs

©2009 EUREKA Secretariat ISSN 1470-7489 Permission to reproduce individual articles from EUREKA News for non-commercial 11 Project showcase purposes is granted, provided that EUREKA News is credited as the source. An ecologically friendly defence against sea and ice erosion in arctic regions EUREKA Secretariat, Rue Neerveld 107, 1200 Brussels, Belgium 12 - 13 Support for SMEs Subscription enquiries: [email protected] Implementation of the EU Small Business Act essential for SME success Opinions expressed within EUREKA News do not necessarily reflect those of the organisation. 14 - 15 Viewpoint

www.eurekanetwork.org SME support essential for European competitiveness and employment

2 Eureka News nr. 85 Innovation must lead the way Editorial in challenging times

This is the third time that Germany has els steady, we can emerge from the crisis held the EUREKA Chair. As a founding mem- strengthened. That said, we’re not always ber, we have always seen EUREKA as a sig- as good as other non-European countries nificant cornerstone in European research at translating ideas into marketable prod- and technology policy, and now its com- ucts, or at recognising the necessity of mon framework of action has become a making risk capital available to young and supporting pillar of the European Research innovating companies and helping them Area (ERA). sustain growth. Another problem is that both basic and applied research and prod- Germany’s Chair Year will continue to build uct development largely remain distinct on EUREKA’s successes and extend its influ- entities in Europe. We ought to foster co- ence. EUREKA has an important role to play operation between them through Public- in the ongoing development of the ERA, Private Partnerships, and by strengthening and in maximising the potential of suc- regional clusters – actions the German cessful instruments such as the Eurostars Chair intends to initiate. programme and the EUREKA Clusters. Professor Annette Schavan One reason for the limited participation of Federal Minister of Education and EUREKA is also the appropriate instrument German partners in EUREKA projects is the Research, Germany for fostering a more internationally focused lack of direct funding available for EUREKA research and innovation policy. The politi- projects in our country. There are, however, Advocate of cal debate about collaborating on a broader a number of programmes that fund R&D international international basis with countries such as projects which we need to align more inter- South Korea must now translate into posi- nationally, as stated in the German Federal cooperation for a tive action. The Portuguese Chair has ad- Government’s Internationalisation Strate- competitive Europe vanced the strategy of internationalisation gy. Additionally, and in line with Germany’s by revising admission procedures to enable High-Tech Strategy, we are committed to Professor Schavan has been non-European countries to apply for Asso- promoting international cooperation in the Federal Minister for Education ciate Country membership of EUREKA. This technological sectors where global chal- and Research since 2005, and is provides an excellent basis for intensifying lenges such as demographic change, ener- Vice-Chairwoman of Germany’s European industry’s cooperation with the gy security or climate change require joint Christian Democratic Party (CDU). world’s best. research efforts, and where there already Among EUREKA’s many strengths are exists a distinctive added value for global its decentralised organisation and abil- competitiveness through cooperation for ity to facilitate multilateral cooperation both German and European industries. between countries. This is partly why its Next year EUREKA celebrates its 25th an- achievements frequently are not visible or niversary. As the organisation was founded acknowledged, and why it doesn’t always on the initiative of France and Germany in get the attention that it deserves from key Hanover in 1985, we are very pleased that stakeholders. To raise public awareness of the anniversary coincides with our third EUREKA – and launch the German Chair- Chairmanship. Over the next 12 months manship – we are hosting an international we aim to advance EUREKA further and conference on the theme ‘World-Class make it an integral part of the ERA, and will Innovation Through International Coop drive forth appropriate steps in pursuit of eration’, which takes place in Dresden on this goal. 6-7 July.

Innovation remains crucial to Europe’s For details about the ‘World-Class success in the global marketplace, and to Innovation Through International overcoming the challenging economic Cooperation’ Conference (6-7 July, situation. So long as we continue financ- Dresden) visit: www.eureka-chair.de ing innovation and hold investment lev-

www.eurekanetwork.org 3 News in brief

World-Class Innovation Through International Cooperation – The main theme of this Conference was the Launch Conference of the German EUREKA Chairmanship 2009/2010 future of Science and Technology in Europe. th The launch conference of the German EUREKA Chairman- Participants at the 16 Inter-parliamentary ship 2009/2010 “World-Class Innovation Through Interna- EUREKA Conference requested that the tional Cooperation” hosted by the Federal Ministry of Ed- Chair of the Conference make national and ucation and Research (BMBF) took place as EUREKA News went to press. European institutions aware of these rec- ommendations, as well as the Ministerial The conference is the platform for the German Chairmanship to present the objectives Conference which will be held in Lisbon, on of its Chairmanship and jointly discuss them with the audience in a variety of different 19 June 2009. http://www.parlamento.pt settings. The conference is expected to lead to new political and thematic initiatives launched within EUREKA during the German Chairmanship. The conference addresses the current and future opportunities and challenges for Eu- EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS rope’s global competitiveness and the potential of international cooperative R&D initia- EUREKA Energy Conference tives to reinforce and enhance the capacity for innovation in Europe. This is to be seen in The Conference, due to be held on light of current major trends and issues discussed among industry players, researchers 17 – 18 September 2009 in Taas- and policy-makers alike, such as an expanding globalisation, the current economic crisis, trup (Danish Technological Insti- climate change, demographic change and energy security, to name just a few. European tute), is built up around the topic of and international high-level representatives from industry, the scientific community and renewable energy technology, such governments are expected to attend. www.eureka-chair.de as bio-energy and a wide range of biomass technologies. Organisers: the EUREKA coordinators in DASTI Open Day at the Council of the EU during the financial crisis. It pointed out (Denmark), VINNOVA (Sweden), This year’s annual EU Institutions Europe that some of its Member States even in- TEKES (Finland), Research Council Day on 9 May, celebrated each year to creased their budget to fund more high (Norway), BBT (Switzerland), FFG-EIP mark the anniversary of the 1950 Schu- qualitative projects during the first two (Austria). See also: http://www.eu- man declaration, coincided with the Eurostars cut-offs in 2008. rekanetwork.org/files/:7033582 Open Day of the European Institutions. The Council of the EU also opened its XVI EUREKA Inter-parliamentary EURIPIDES Forum 2009 doors to the public. A large number of Conference The third edition of the EURIPIDES Fo- visitors were introduced to the Council On the initiative of the Assembly of the rum will be held on 22 – 23 October procedures. They had the opportunity to th Republic of Portugal, the 16 Inter-par- 2009, in Barcelona (Casa Convalescèn- participate in some guided tours of the liamentary EUREKA Conference, “Energy cia). The EUREKA Cluster dedicated to Justus Lipsius building and attended in- and Sustainability”, was held on 14 -15 the field of Microsystems Technology teractive information sessions about in- May 2009. A number of Members of Par- and Electronic Packaging will give the novation and climate change as well as liament and Representatives of the Gov- participants state-of-the-art informa- found information about the Council and ernments of the EUREKA Initiative Mem- tion about mature and emerging tech- the EU at various information stands. ber States attended the event. nology trends for affordable power During the “Innovation Panel”, the Euro- The Conference was electronics for smart sensors for IT, pean Council highlighted the fruitful part- opened by Jaime health, security and energy control. This nership with EUREKA and reminded the Gama, President of event is an opportunity to exchange audience that only 10% of the innovations the Assembly of the success stories, getting inside infor- succeed. It was also stressed thatiInnova- Republic followed mation from industry leaders about tion is the future of our jobs and growth by speeches from technology trends, and meeting with and thus it should remain a high political José Mariano Gago, potential partners in pre-arranged ap- priority. The EUREKA Secretariat made a Minister of Science, pointments to set up winning project short presentation on its programmes Technology and Higher Education of Por- consortia. See also: http://www.eu- and explained that it was possible to tugal, and Bravo Nico, Member of Parlia- rekanetwork.org/files/:7060019 have a successful innovation programme ment and Chair of the Conference.

Projects proposals received in 2008 of the Eurostars applicants are 532 for Eurostars 7 2 % R&D SMEs

4 Eureka News 85 Innovation Days promoted in the EUREKA’s contribution to the European Business Summit on “Cutting Red Tape” European Media Luuk Borg, Head of EUREKA’s Secretariat was a panelist at the “SMEs in times of crisis: red tape or red carpet?’” workshop during the European Business Summit, the number one meeting place for high-level decision- The Portuguese Chairmanship’s flag event, makers and business people in Europe. Innovation Days, has been widely promoted in the European press. A long online He presented SME policy in times of crisis and shared campaign is running in the main EU Media EUREKA’s and its large network’s views and expertise Portal www.euractiv.com reaching more in this sector. Mr. Borg further added that the current than 560,000 visitors monthly. crisis is not the only reason to fight bureaucracy. All administrators have an obligation to cut red tape. European Voice, the main EU print publi- However, he said some procedures are necessary in cation reaching all the EU officials has run order to guarantee that public money is spent properly. Borg also said business must be Innovation Days ads both online and in its transparent, in order for companies to know when to take important business decisions, print publication. An advertorial will follow and for government to know where to put their money. after the event. Both these media are official media partners of the Innovation Days. Innovation Days has also been featured part of its Special Report on “Research and Hannover Messe 2009 in CORDIS, the information space for Eu- Technology Partnerships”. Franco Cozzani from the ESE was kindly ropean Research and Development (R&D) The article depicts the EUREKA initiative invited to visit the Messe and discuss and exploitation of European R&D results. as a very successful alternative for organ- the possibility for an ESE participation in ising pan European collaborative indus- Messe. The 2009 Messe attracted count- trial research despite its lack of a funding less visitors who flocked to its many Pa- Viennano 09 – 3rd Vienna International mechanism and central budget. Luuk Borg, vilions, gasping at the best and the latest Conference and Exhibition dedicated Head of the EUREKA Secretariat was quot- of modern technology. The Pavilion on to Nanotechnologies, Vienna, ed saying that “companies are still keen wind energy production was particularly 19-20 March 2009. to launch collaborative research projects impressive, with 1:1 mockups of the “na- More than 150 participants and more than despite the current economic situation. celles” for the largest (up to 5 MW) wind 80 technical presentations about future We expected the number of project pro- turbines. developments in nanotechnologies were posals to go down; however, we have had The 2009 Messe offered a special interna- present. EUREKA had a booth focused on a slight increase in the number of projects tional flavour, with South Korea co-spon- supporting strategic Umbrellas PRO-FAC- coming in. The number of good project soring the event. In view of the strong TORY, ENIWEP and EULASNET II. proposals has also increased”. interest of South Korea in becoming a EUREKA associate member, its presence was particularly significant. The ESE participation in Messe 2010 will be arranged in close cooperation with the incoming German Chair of EUREKA. An idea discussed during the visit is that representatives of the EUREKA Clusters and Umbrellas will join staff from the ESE European Voice’s EUREKA feature and the Chair, notably to make technical European Voice, the weekly newspaper on presentations in the different thematic EU affairs reaching Europe’s most impor- Pavilions, at the next Messe. tant decision-makers, published in its 30 April 2009 edition an article on “Building Research Networks through EUREKA” as

success rate for the Eurostars project of the Eurostars projects proposals 4 0 % proposals in 2008 2 0 % are in the Biotech sector

www.eurekanetwork.org 5 News in brief

SME week to boost entrepreneurship Minimum ecodesign requirements can be complemented by voluntary bench- EU NEWS marks. Ambitious voluntary agreements Traffic report Northern shining by industry may be an alternative to regu- lights lation. Next to minimum requirements, For the third year running, Denmark the revised directive also defines volun- and Sweden hold the top two slots tary benchmarks of environmental per- in the Global Information Technol- formance, achieved by high-performance ogy Report 2008-2009 by the World Promoting entrepreneurship and raising products. See also: http://ec.europa.eu/ Economic Forum, with Finland, Ice- awareness about business support were enterprise/newsroom/cf/itemlongdetail. land and Norway not far behind. The the main messages of the first European cfm?item_id=3055&lang=en rankings are based on 68 criteria, SME Week which took place on 6-17 May ranging from press freedom to edu- 2009. More than 1000 events took place cational achievement and broadband in 35 countries. The main message con- Modernisation of EU research funding penetration. The top countries have veyed was that the contribution of Euro- on the right track spent big to develop information pean entrepreneurs to preserving jobs The European Commission presented a infrastructures and are also continu- and creating new ones needs to be fur- progress report covering the first two ing with policies to spur economic ther recognised and supported. This week years of the 7th EU Framework Programme development, including support allowed entrepreneurs to discover the infor R&D (FP7), which will last until 2013. for higher education, commitment formation, advice, support and ideas The biggest EU R&D funding programme to research and legal frameworks available at European, national, regional with a €54bn budget over 7 years, proves that make it easier to launch new and local levels to help them develop to be well suited to answer the EU’s eco- businesses and protect intellectual their activities. nomic and societal needs. property. Policies to promote SMEs, including re- Priority areas such as environment, energy The Nordic countries all boast fa- ducing administrative burden, revised or nanotechnologies contribute to build- vourable regulation, an emphasis state aid rules and a new statute for a ing a sustainable, low-carbon economy, on maths and science education, European Private Company, have been with industry-led technology platforms and a long history of eco-friendly considerably advanced by the European helping to define topics which meet in- initiatives. Government investment Commission since it took office in 2004. dustry’s long-term needs. in the 1990s helped build strong See also: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/ The European Research Council supports educational systems and drive pen- newsroom/cf/itemlongdetail.cfm?item_ the best researchers to globally compete etration of mobile and internet us- id=3090&lang=en on scientific excellence. age. Yet even they face difficulties, including a shortage of engineers. Joint Technology Initiatives embody Fewer students, especially women, new public-private ventures on an un- EU NEWS are pursuing science careers. The precedented technological and financial Ecodesign other countries in the top 10 are scale. The European Commission recently wel- Singapore, Switzerland, the Nether- comed the adoption by the European Par- FP7 is a strong asset in the EU’s fight lands, Canada and the US. liament of its proposal to push ahead the against the current crisis with its shift towards a low-carbon economy. The budget growing every year by 13% un- legal framework has been enlarged to all til 2013. The report underlines remain- energy-related products. ing challenges for the FP7, such as the Plans are now to eventually extend the mobilisation of new Member States, the directive to all energy-related products, participation of SMEs and administra- including products that do not consume tive simplification. For more informa- energy during use but have an indirect tion visit: http://europa.eu/rapid/press- impact on energy consumption. Although ReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/665 plans are to enlarge the Ecodesign Direc- &format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN tive, its key principles remain unchanged. &guiLanguage=en

6 Eureka News 85 Project showcase Driving on the safe side Wireless vehicle information network to improve traffic safety An advanced wireless network platform combing local forecasting and secure data collection and reception between roadside points and vehicles is able to provide real-time incident, weather and other traffic information for all road users. The system developed in the EUREKA Celtic telecommunications Cluster CARLINK project can provide drivers with early warnings of severe weather conditions and delays, enabling them to choose alternative routes and to avoid accidents.

CARLINK developed an intelligent wireless search institute VTT. But it saw the need platform between cars, supported by road- for international cooperation and so at- side wireless transceivers. Bidirectional tended a Celtic Cluster event in Heidelberg, WiFi connections make it possible to col- Germany in 2005, where it was able to put lect and exploit data from vehicles on road together a consortium with other partners conditions – from icy surfaces to accidents. that included research centres, systems A hybrid communications system using developers and software experts from Fin- the GPRS mobile phone network where land, Luxembourg and Spain. possible ensures fast delivery even when “We developed a wireless communication base stations are widely spaced – allowing platform adapted to all vehicles that can be early deployment even in rural areas. used with GPRS or dedicated wireless sys- The project was the brainchild of Timo Suku- tems,” Sukuvaara explains. “The platform is vaara of the Finnish Meteorological Institute one of the key innovations to provide serv- (FMI). “Our institute had a strong background ices to and export data from vehicles.” in local weather forecasting and in wireless Exploiting the wide range of data avai- networking,” he says. “However, to make lable in vehicles – from temperature to such a system viable requires a critical mass braking – is another major innovation. of applications to justify the high initial in- Such data is extracted from the standard vestment.” The primary applications already bus systems now found in cars and other developed include real-time local weather road vehicles and exported together with data, urban transport traffic management GPS information for positioning. and urban information broadcasting. Commercial services Aiming at all road in prospect users The result could be real commercial serv- Limited early warning systems are available such as adapting wireless networking to ices in the medium term. “We have already in Finland, providing severe weather warn- the vehicle environment and achieving re- been discussing this with public authori- ings via SMS messaging to heavy vehicles liable security. ties in Finland but several items need to be for example. But this requires purchase of Widespread application for all vehicles completed,” says Sukuvaara. The next step special equipment and is expensive. Suku- is the longer-term target – motivating is a continuation project with wide-scale vaara envisaged a system that would come carmakers to integrate such systems for pilot systems and cooperation with vehi- with a vehicle, reducing costs and enabling large-scale use. cle developers in WiSafeCar. This project is all road users to have access. starting in summer 2009 and should lead More information: http://www.celtic-ini- FMI initially looked for national partners, initially to use by commercial vehicles such tiative.org/Projects/CARLINK/default.asp; linking up with the Finnish national re- as taxis. Several issues need to be resolved, http://carlink.lcc.uma.es/

www.eurekanetwork.org 7 Czech Republic set to favour research excellence

The majority of Czechs brought up under communism will tell you that during that time they would never have imagined that the country would escape from the clutches of such a strict regime, and that the events of the 1989 ‘Velvet Revolution’ were something that could only ever be dreamed of, but never believed.

For those who grew up in the “bad old days”, The Czech Republic has always had a Official language: Czech Liberecec unable to travel (other than to other Eastern strong reputation for R&D, and during its (belonging to the Slavic Bloc countries), without any sort of freedom involvement with EUREKA it has produced group of languages) of speech, and with the knowledge that, if some considerable success stories. We they showed any sign of disagreeing with thought, therefore, that it would be very the regime, they and their families would interesting for our readers to get a bit PRAHAP Ostravaa (Prague)(P have trouble from the secret police, the more of an insight into the contribution events of these last twenty years would of EUREKA in the Czech Republic, by talk- Capital city: Prague Olomouc Plzenˇ have been impossible to conceive. ing to Svatopluk Halada, Czech national (1.15 million inhabitants) Imagine telling someone that within secondee to the EUREKA Secretariat and Other largest cities: a very short time (just over three years head of the EUREKA Chairmanship team Brno, Ostrava, Plzenˇ, Brnoo later, on 1 January 1993), the country from July 2005 until June 2006. Our short Liberec, Olomouc known as Czechoslovakia would split interview with him is set out below. into two completely separate entities to Gross National Income What were the major achievements of the be known as the Czech Republic and Slo- per capita (2008) vakia, would join the European Union (the Czech Chairmanship given that the Czech Republic was the first CEE country to hold Czech Republic joined the EU on May 1 €17,892 The total surface area: 2004) and in the space of just five years the EUREKA Chairmanship? (2% of the surface of the whole European Union) would take up the Presidency of the Euro- I would say that the biggest achieve- pean Union and would be host to the first ment during our Chairmanship was the ever black President of the United States, enormous effort that we made to build >>Increasing EUREKA’s commitment to all Barack Obama, during his first tour of Eu- all of the necessary preparatory steps for national Governments and beginning rope as President. It all sounds a little bit the Eurostars Programme, the first-ever the preparations of a new strategic sce- crazy, doesn’t it? But it is all true. European funding programme that sup- nario for EUREKA. EUREKA was the first European R&D pro- ports R&D-performing SMEs. During our gramme to open a window for cooperation Chairmanship, the Eurostars Programme During its one year term in the EUREKA with the transforming countries of Central was more or less finalised and in 2007 it Chairmanship I think it is fair to say that the and Eastern Europe at the beginning of the was officially announced as ready for the Czech Republic fostered the further devel- 1990s, and the Czech Republic has been ac- period 2007-2013. Of course this was not opment of EUREKA but, as I said, the effort tive in a wide range of activities right from the only project that we were working on, in relation to the Eurostars Programme has the outset. The national funding system and generally, I would say that our other been a particularly huge success. began its operation and support of EURE- Chairmanship achievements included: What are the ambitions of the Czech KA projects in the Czech Republic in 1994 >>Promoting EUREKA as a significant Eu- Republic for EUREKA? when the Ministry of Education, Youth and ropean network for businesses and in- Sports, which is responsible for all inter- Since EUREKA began its cooperation with novation; national cooperation in R&D, began to ac- the Czech Republic in 1993 (i.e. two years tively assist companies (particularly SMEs), >>Building bridges with other European before the country became a full member and research centres to generate EUREKA players in the fields of research and in- in 1995), it has become one of the most international projects. novation; active members of EUREKA in regard

8 Eureka News 85 to the generation of new and innovative projects. In the past few years it has brought forward more new opportunities than Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Poland. At present, the Czech Republic is participating in 256 EUREKA projects (both ongoing and finished) with a total budget of more than € 110 million. The majority of these projects have the full participation of a number of Czech organisations and are related to new materials, bio- technology and environmental problems. The Czech organisations, who are mostly

Liberecec POPULATION 10.4 MILLION

Key industry sectors: engineering and manufacturing of PRAHAP Ostravaa (Prague)(P machines, automotive, part of the solution to the current crisis. In the Czech Republic, during the pe- manufacturing of This means that we should focus on smart riod 2000-2007, investment for EUREKA plastic and rubber Olomouc investment in research sectors with a projects represented, on average, 0.014% Plzenˇ products, wood processing high potential for restarting businesses of GDP. and economic recovery actions. Brnoo Inflation Rate: In which technological sectors is the Czech (May 2009) The main objectives of the National Re- Republic mostly involved? search Programme are: 4 .6 % >>Improving the performance and effi- The Czech economy is involved in manu- ciency of all Czech research. facturing, particularly the production of cars and motor vehicles, and is also very >>Ensuring the dynamic renewal and de- strong in the chemical sector. Other im- The total surface area: velopment of research capacities and portant technological sectors include (2% of the surface of the 2 the use of all opportunities for interna- whole European Union) 7 8 8 8 6 k m transport and communications. tional cooperation.

>>Promoting and favouring research ex- How do you feel about the Czech Republic’s SMEs, are also the leaders of these EUREKA cellence, and capitalising on the results participation in the Eurostars Programme? projects. for innovation. What are the country’s ambitions in this >>Increasing the applicability of research regard? What are the Czech development plans/ results in practice and market applica- The Eurostars Programme is an excellent initiatives to enhance science, technology tion as an important tool for innovation. funding scheme for the cooperation of and innovation? R&D-performing SMEs throughout Eu- What is the investment distribution for The main goal of the national R&D strat- rope. The first two calls have generated a R&D in the Czech Republic? egy is to improve the country’s ongoing lot of very innovative projects, all with the results in these fields and to ensure the Expenditure on research and develop- potential for very quick application on the flexible and efficient renewal of capaci- ment in the Czech Republic in 2007 market. The Czech Republic and its SMEs ties, including the development of active amounted to CZK 54 billion (1.53% of are using the possibility of the Eurostars human potential and the successful meet- GDP). Of this, 54% of funding came from Programme, but it is necessary to increase ing of the future needs of citizens, society private sources (0.83% of GDP), 41% from the quality (innovation level) of submit- and the economy in the Czech Republic. public sources (0.63% of GDP) and 4% ted projects by the Czech participants, as We need to ensure that the current finan- from abroad (0.06% of GDP). Enterprises previous calls, whilst showing that Czech cial and economic crisis does not lead to a performing research and development projects have been successfully qualified, decrease in investment for R&D, because without governmental subsidies benefit have been low on the ranking scale of po- research and innovation are a proactive from a reduced income tax basis. tential projects.

www.eurekanetwork.org 9 Research connections – EU research at a crossroads “European Reseach – an Area without Barriers” Huge opportunities As many of our readers will know, the Czech Republic has held the Presidency of the European Union since January 2009 and will finish in June 2009 when it will hand it over to Sweden. for SMEs This has been a period of turmoil for the majority of companies, with the global financial crisis affecting everyone to a certain extent, and the Czech Republic is no exception. In ad- dition to this, the country has also seen a period of political turmoil that is still to be resolved. In the R&D field, however, four main priorities were identified: research infrastructure, the development of human resources in research and the mobility of researchers, and the evaluation of the results of investment in research. The fourth pri- Organised by the Commission’s Directorate-General for Research, ority, the Ljubljana Process, which should ensure increased over 2,000 EU scientists, policy makers and representatives from coordination within the ERA process, is a shared priority with industry and research organisations gathered at the Research the EU’s other Troika partners – France and Sweden. Particular Connections event in Prague on 9 May 2009. emphasis was put on the discussions on the contribution of the Ljubljana Process to the successful implementation of the Following the theme of ‘Networking our way to a research future’, Lisbon Strategy and to growth and employment in Europe in the conference provided invaluable advice on how to take advan- the post-2010 period. tage of the various research schemes, while an exciting exhibition showcased a selection of 50 EU-funded projects. Two SME work- After the Competitiveness Council, scheduled for May 28 and shops were organised as part of the event covering three Europe- 29, we will be able to summarise the Czech EU Presidency, an programmes and supporting the SME offer from lab to market. since by then a number of important proposals will be endorsed. If approved, one of them, the proposal setting up In his closing speech, Zoran Stancˇicˇ, Deputy Director of the Eu- the Community Legal Framework for the European Research ropean Commission’s DG Research, praised it as a great success. Infrastructure Consortium, will be one of the main achieve- Commissioner Potocnik added that “Research is fundamental to ments of the Czech Presidency. In the course of negotiation Europe’s growth and prosperity, and the European Research Area in relation to this proposal, the Czech Presidency was able to (ERA) is an integral component of our response to the challenges find a compromise amongst the Member States on the ques- of globalisation. I am convinced that the only way forward is to tion of the VAT exemption for these consortia, despite the pool our brainpower and resources, or be ‘intelligent together’. initial negative position of several Member States. This idea was summed up by the title ‘Research Connection’: working together, across national frontiers, to address current chal- We should also mention the smooth negotiation with the Eu- lenges and develop excellence. ropean Parliament on the European Metrology Research Pro- gramme (EMPR). It is a metrology-focused European programme EUREKA and Eurostars were present in the session on research and of coordinated R&D that facilitates the closer integration of innovation and were presented as the right source for Czech SMEs. national research programmes. The EMRP will ensure collabora- The Eurostars programme, managed by EUREKA but with support tion between National Measurement Institutes, reduce dupli- from the EU, was the right source of support for B&M InterNets. cations and increase the impact of invested resources. The Czech software development SME became involved in the DYSLEXTEST project, developing a system of online exercises for For the time being, there are no statistics on the participa- people with dyslexia. It analyses each individual’s progress and de- tion of Czech research teams in FP7. The interest of Czech velops personal training methods. The company’s marketing man- researchers to participate in the Framework Programme is ager, Marika Hrubesˇová, was enthusiastic about its involvement in increasing slightly, but the Czech teams are not very active Eurostars, saying that the company had learnt from the experi- in coordinating the projects; this is similar to the situation in ence of bigger players within the project and gained access to new most new Member States. On the other hand, the participa- and larger markets.” tion of Czech industry, particularly SMEs, is quite high. As the Czech Government has recently adopted several measures Find out more: http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm Research to stimulate the participation of the Czech Republic in the Connection 2009: http://ec.europa.eu/research/rtd-2009/ Framework Programme (e.g. financial support for the project’s http://ec.europa.eu/research/sme-techweb/newsletter/issue5/ preparation or a VAT refund in relation to European R&D research-connections_en.html projects), there is the likelihood of a further increase in the http://ec.europa.eu/research/conferences/2009/rtd-2009/index_ participation of Czech entities. en.cfm

10 Eureka News nr. 85 Project showcase An ecologically friendly defence against sea and ice erosion in arctic regions

A robust geosynthetic bag developed by the French and Norwegian partners of EUREKA project E!3702 GISSAC can be filled with locally available, low-grade soil and used to build protective infrastructures capable of withstanding sea and ice erosion in the harsh arctic climate. The inexpensive, sustainable solution will be launched on the market in early 2010.

Coastal roads and harbours are tradition- ally protected from sea erosion by giant blocks of rock or geosynthetic bags filled with material, all locally sourced where possible. In cold northern regions, where good quality material is often scarce, the prohibitive economic and environmental cost of importing suitable matter has led to a demand for solutions that make use of whatever low quality soil or other material is available.

Geosynthetic bags, which are typically woven textile or membrane polymer- based envelopes, have been successfully used for more than 40 years in temperate climates, but have not been tested in sub- zero conditions. Answering local needs

EUREKA project E!3702 GISSAC was initi- with strict environmental regulations, and camp on Svalbard operated by project ated by TenCate Geosynthetics France, a which also lack suitable geological material partner Store Norske Spitsbergen Gru- worldleader in the design and production for building protective infrastructures.” bekompani (SNSG). Over three winters, their response to the cold, ice movement, of geosynthetic materials for civil engi- The GISSAC project team, with the support currents, abrasion and other stresses was neering projects. “Our northern European of EUREKA and the Norwegian-French Foun- monitored. The results were so good that sales offices asked us to develop suitable dation, set about developing and testing SNSG used the Geobags to repair a dam- materials for cold regions,” explains Olivier envelopes made with textiles comprising aged quay wall in the local harbour instead Artières, Innovation Project Manager and different structures (woven, non-woven and of local rocks. Senior Expert. knitted) and different types of polymers. Laboratory tests and analysis of on-site re- “We had a discussion with colleagues at Given the ecologically fragile nature of sults were conducted by French partner Norway’s SINTEF Research Institute and de- arctic regions, Geobags have another sig- CETE Est LRPC Nancy and Norwegian sub- cided to talk to local users to gain a better nificant advantage, says Artières. “Geobag contractor UNIS, with PhD-students and understanding of their needs. Protection infrastructures are reversible – if they are MsC students taking part in the fieldwork. against coastal erosion is a big problem in no longer required, they can simply be areas such as Svalbard, where traditional The Geobags were installed along a 100 emptied and the place left exactly as it was solutions are too expensive or don’t comply metre stretch of coastline near a mining before construction.”

www.eurekanetwork.org 11 Support for SMEs Implementation of the EU Small Business Act essential for SME success

The EU Small Business Act (SBA) is designed to ensure small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are taken into account when planning legislation while driving reductions in bureaucracy. Arndt Kirchhoff of Kirchhoff Automotive in Germany and Chair of the Entrepreneurship & SME Committee in BUSINESSEUROPE, the association of national business organisations representing 23 million European SMEs, believes strongly in the SBA. BUSINESSEUROPE is pushing for fast implementation at national level and easier access to funding for innovation. SMEs are the backbone of business in Eu- Key role for SBA as everything dealing with education and rope. Not only are SMEs responsible for innovation.” the bulk of employment in Europe but For this reason, BUSINESSEUROPE sup- Education is the basis of innovation. But they have also been generating more ports the Small Business Act for Europe Europe needs to educate its people bet- jobs in the past few years than large en- announced by the European Commis- ter, especially in the natural sciences. “In- terprises – nearly 5 million. They are flex- sion in mid 2008 and endorsed by the novation is not confined to high tech, it ible, know their people and know their EU Council in December 2008 under the is also important in traditional businesses, business, but they are small and so not French presidency. This is now the main where it is often more successful as it so solid when cold winds blow. responds to a real need in the They do not necessarily need market,” says Kirchhoff. protection but do need special care. Companies that are working outside their “We must improve education, home base are more successful than those particularly entrepreneurial Europe must overcome some education. We have only half of its weak points in ensuring that stay at home. the percentage of entrepre- that SMEs can thrive. “We need neurs found in the USA. When to do something about inno- framework for all activities to improve the we grow entrepreneurs, we automatically vation and be more successful in using role of SMEs. It should also ensure Europe grow jobs.” the internal market,” stresses Kirchhoff. meets the Lisbon expectations for growth “Recent surveys show only 8% of SMEs and jobs by 2010. are international – i.e. using the internal Making better use market. This is a pity because companies BUSINESSEUROPE is focusing on imple- that are working outside their home base mentation of the SBA in all Member States. of funding are more successful than those that stay “The ideas are worth nothing if they are Evaluation of the Seventh Framework at home.” not translated into the individual frame- Programme (FP7) indicates R&D funding works of the Member States,” continues needs to be used more efficiently to tack- Kirchhoff would like to see politicians Kirchhoff. “We have suggested to the le major issues such as the environment, doing more to harmonise the internal EU European Commission that SBA progress material and energy efficiency, and lower market, creating a framework that gives becomes part of the annual Lisbon report, consumption. “This is the background on SMEs confidence and enables them to be making it more visible.” which we should be basing our future – successful. “This starts with legal aspects there is no dispute, we just need to organ- such as a European company statute – “There has been progress in reducing ise things better,” says Kirchhoff one legal form that can be used by all Eu- red tape with savings already of €30 bil- ropean entrepreneurs, as the current situ- lion – a good start,” points out Kirchhoff. “A lot of money is being invested in R&D ation makes SMEs very uncertain when “But there are parts of the regulatory at EU and Member State level but we still going into a new country,” he says. framework that need to be eased – such need to meet the 3% of GDP target. This

12 Eureka News 85 Overall, Europe must look to the future ‘Think Small First’ and supply products, services and technologies to emerging markets in Asia, The Small Business Act for Europe was proposed by the European Commission in Latin America and Africa. “European soci- mid 2008 and approved by both the European Parliament and the European Council ety is set to shrink; so we need new mar- by the end of the year. It is set to play an important role in the implementation of kets in growing business fields – tech- the EU Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs. The objective is to guide conception nology, environment and automation as and implementation of policies at EU and Member State levels - such as granting a well as traditional areas such as automo- second chance for business failures, facilitating access to finance and enabling SMEs tive, building and medical devices – as to turn environmental challenges into opportunities - that will make life easier for people get older – where a big demand small businesses. is emerging.” In particular, the SBA intends to: >>Create an environment within which entrepreneurs can thrive and entrepreneurship is rewarded; >>Design rules according to the ‘Think Small First Principle’; >>Adapt public policy tools to SME needs; >>Facilitate SMEs’ access to finance; and >>Help SMEs to benefit more from the opportunities offered by the Single Market and third-country markets. New legislation is already being prepared in four areas that particularly affect SMEs: 1. A new General Block Exemption Regulation on state aid to simplify procedures and reduce costs; 2. A new statute for a European private company will allow such companies to be created and operate according to the same uniform principles in all Member States; 3. Member States will be offered the option to apply reduced VAT rates for locally supplied services, including labour-intensive services, which are mainly provided by SMEs; and 4. An amendment to the directive on late payments to help to ensure that SMEs are paid within the 30-day time limit stipulated. The ambitious measures include orienting more resources to small companies’ access to finance, research & development and innovation. These measures will also make it easier for SMEs to participate in the standards-setting process, win public procure- ment contracts and turn environmental challenges into business opportunities. Arndt Kirchhoff – fourth generation entrepreneur could be achieved by offering tax incen- Kirchhoff is keen on the EUREKA approach Arndt G. Kirchhoff is chairman, owner tives for R&D. The current logic means and its commitment to creating entrepre- and CEO of KIRCHHOFF Automotive that the smaller a company, the less they neurs and helping SMEs. “EUREKA needs to GmbH in Germany. He was nominated are prepared to be more visible as as chair of the BUSINESSEUROPE deal with the bu- do all such initia- Entrepreneurship and SME Committee reaucracy involved tives. The Eurostars in 2005. He is a member of the Enterprise in public funding. Education is the basis of programme would Policy Group (EPG) of the European One-stop shops innovation. But Europe also benefit from Commission as well as of the SME can help but the needs to educate its more promotion Advisory Group to the German Federal process is too slow. people better, especially to make it even Ministry for Economy (BMWI). And he And we need to in the natural sciences. more effective. The chairs both the SME Committee of the bring the universi- media needs to German Industry and Employers ties and research be more positive Federation (BDI/BDA) and the organisations closer to companies. Inno- about what we are doing in Europe – so we Automobile Association (VDA). vation is only good if marketed!” must improve our communications.”

www.eurekanetwork.org 13 Viewpoint SME support essential for European competitiveness and employment

Hungarian MEP Zsolt Becsey believes strongly in the key role SMEs can play in European competitiveness and efficiency. He would like to see more flexibility in SME support, with greater openness about what is being done to help them, mentoring for start-ups and better communication of opportunities available, particular in research funding at European and EU Member State level.

What should be done to help SMEs? We need further development and better discipline in the European internal market. Reducing red tape is important with less regulation and promotion of one- stop shops to make it easier for SMEs to start up. Mentoring for SMEs is also very important. Access to European funds, particularly structural funds, needs to be easier and more flexible for SMEs as they do not have the same resources as larger enterprises to deal with bureaucracy. This means chang- ing EU attitudes to allow SMEs direct access to European resources. Implementa- tion of the late payment Directive is also important, as SMEs need liquidity. Financial services also need to be quick and as cheap as possible.

What can the European Parliament do? What role do you see for SMEs in Europe? sible for more than 70% of employment My group follows all SME-related regula- – and will remain a big reservoir of jobs. It Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) tions and legislation and tries to make will be difficult to achieve the Lisbon strat- play an important role in Europe in boost- sure they are made as flexible as possible. egy of an overall 70% employment rate by ing efficiency and competitiveness because Take the working time Directive. Work- they supply local services and ers should not be exploited but support big companies, provid- there is a need for flexibility in ing additional capacity or doing Workers should not be exploited but sectors where SMEs are heavily things large enterprises cannot there is a need for flexibility in sectors represented, such as tourism or or prefer not to do. So SMEs are where SMEs are heavily represented, local services. The same flexibil- a vital link in the whole chain of such as tourism or local services. ity and simplification is required production. in taxation and company regis- Employment is crucial. SMEs are tration. helping formulate the future of Europe 2010 with the major multinationals alone. In the case of SME access to European with enterprises close to the people. 99% We must encourage employment in SMEs funding, the necessity to have partners of European enterprises are SMEs, respon- and microenterprises. from other countries should to be applied

14 Eureka News nr. 85 flexibly as it benefits large companies, What can Europe do to encourage research which have more possibilities to have in- and support SMEs? Zsolt Becsey – ternational links. I know the EU would like Good cooperation between SMEs, their um- economist and more SMEs to operate across borders, but, brella organisations and the European Par- when starting up in local markets, they former diplomat liament is important to get support closer have other priorities and do not necessarily to SMEs. In the research field, we need to Zsolt Becsey has been a Member of have the time or resources to look around cut taxes and encourage clustering. EU the European Parliament since 2004. Europe for partners. So, it should not be a actions such as the Seventh Framework He studied economics in Budapest pre-condition for funding as it is with larg- Programme (FP7) and the Competitiveness before joining the Hungarian Ministry er companies. and Innovation Programme (CIP) offer new of Foreign Affairs and was part of the possibilities. We need to speed up and sim- Hungarian representation to the EU in What is the role of research? plify access to them by SMEs – particularly Brussels. He now belongs to the Research is very crucial, which is why I at- those from the new Member States in the Hungarian Civic Party, part of the tribute great importance to EUREKA – it east of the EU. If participation is too com- European People’s Party (EPP), and sits was the real innovation before the Frame- plicated, they will not get involved. on the European Parliament work Programmes were created. I think Committee on Economic and EUREKA should con- What about at Monetary Affairs. He was made chair tinue to be heavily Member State of the EPP SME Circle at the end of promoted, together Good cooperation between level? 2008. Earlier this year, he was respon- with the new Euros- SMEs, their umbrella I think that as part sible for steering the report on credit tars programme for organisations and the of the Lisbon proc- for microenterprises through the high tech SMEs. Pro- European Parliament. European Parliament is ess, the EU and the motion should focus European Commis- on getting closer to important to get support sion should oblige SMEs with relevant closer to SMEs. Member States to information. report directly on At the same time, research is not the only what they are doing at national level to important issue. It is necessary to get inno- simplify access to research possibilities vation and innovative practices to SMEs – for as part of their yearly reports. There is example access to software resources should also a need for state guarantees for re- be made easier. search – with credit available at national levels.