§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the annual UK contribution has been, at constant prices, to the EU EUREKA programme since its inception; and if she will make a statement. [122494]
§ Ms HewittEUREKA is an independent programme to support industrially-led R and D. It includes 34 member countries in Europe and adjacent regions. The EU Commission is also a member.
There is no central fund to support projects; each country provides support to its own participants at agreed rates. EUREKA can cover any industrially-relevant technology. It complements the EU Framework Programme and is implicated in the proposals for the European Research Area.
The majority of projects fall within the policy responsibility of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The following table details the annual spend on EUREKA projects by the DTI. Separate figures before 1992–93 are unavailable.
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EUREKA projects expenditure £ million Financial year Actual spend Spend at 2002–03 prices 1985–1991/92 26.90 43.07 1992–93 29.31 37.81 1993–94 20.57 25.90 1994–95 21.41 26.60 1995–96 14.48 17.49
EUREKA projects expenditure £ million Financial year Actual spend Spend at 2002–03 prices 1996–97 8.32 9.74 1997–98 5.88 6.68 1998–99 2.04 2.26 1999–2000 1.99 2.15 2000–01 2.32 2.45 2001–02 1.90 1.96 2002–03 2.74 2.74 Total 37.86 178.84 The future of the EUREKA initiative in the UK will be covered in the imminent DTI Innovation Review.