The conference EIT Awareness Day, organised by the EIT and the Croatian Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, brought together over 200 local and foreign participants - representatives of state institutions, start-ups and innovative companies. They were presented with possibilities of cooperation with the EIT as well as with financing and commercialisation opportunities.
The conference was held as part of the Croatian presidency of the Council of the European Union, and was attended by the Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, Darko Horvat, the Minister of Science and Education, Blazenka Divjak, and the head of the European Representation in Croatia, Ognian Zlatev.
Horvat said that the government had allocated HRK 770 million (€104m) for innovations and had so far received 200 applications. He said that the intention was for Croatia to reach the EU research and development expenditure average of 2.5% of GDP by 2025.
"Already in 2018, we saw a rise in such investment of 18%, which indicates that what we are doing is good. I expect statistics for 2019 and 2020 to be similar to that rise. Currently we have tenders for innovation projects worth a total of HRK 1.5 billion (€203m)," Horvat said.
Divjak said that the conference was a chance for Croatia to see how best it could benefit from the EIT given its innovation potential. "The focus of EU funds in 2021-2027 will be on investment in science, research and development, for which 30% of the budget will be allocated, and on all research relating to green technologies and the fight against climate change," she said.
EIT Director Martin Kern said that Croatia had made progress since it joined the EU in mid-2013, and that the country had a lot of talent who were already conquering the world with their innovations. He said that the EIT wanted to help talent to better connect together and be in touch with over 1,500 of its partners and 50 innovation hubs in Europe.
Launched in 2008 as an independent EU body, the EIT promotes full integration of business, education and research & development. In recent years its focus has been on the transition to a carbon-free economy, digital transformation, energy efficiency, food innovations and healthy lifestyles.