BRATISLAVA, January 17, (WEBNOVINY) – The Ministry of Economy wants to increase its 2011 budget by EUR 829,000. It wants to use the funds for its innovation policy. The ministry wrote in its draft innovation policy for 2011 to 2013 that support for innovation activities in companies, in particular those small and medium-sized, is one of the basic instruments for securing Slovakia’s development. Based on the draft, the government should secure EUR 2.26 million for innovation policies in 2012 and additional EUR 2.36 million for 2013.
The ministry prepared thirteen measures to increase innovation activity in the business sphere. The ministry states that it is important to create a quality infrastructure and an effective system of development of innovations, secure quality of human resources by education, and apply efficient tools for innovations. EUR 96 million will be necessary in order to implement the proposed measures in the period from 2011 to 2013. EUR 90.55 million should be from EU funds and the rest from local public funds.
According to results of the European Innovation Scoreboard EIS 2009, Slovakia is among countries with the lowest innovation output, while reaching only 66 percent of the EU average.
SITA
