EUREKA expands to include Cyprus and Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

Brussels, 02 July 2002

The extension of EUREKA to include Cyprus and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was announced at a EUREKA ministerial conference in Thessaloniki, Greece on 28 June. Some 34 European countries are now full members of EUREKA.

Accession by the two countries comes an exceptionally short time after achieving 'NIP (national information point) status' in February 2002. NIP status allows countries to take part in EUREKA projects, but only full membership allows them to lead and generate projects.

Whilst agreeing to the expansion of EUREKA to include Cyprus, Turkey maintained reservations. In a letter to EUREKA, Turkey stated that the agreement should be made with the Greek Cypriot administration, and that the country as a whole should not be referred to as Cyprus.

A draft memorandum of understanding has also been sent to Morocco, inviting them to obtain 'associated status' with EUREKA.

EUREKA is a European network for market-oriented research and development (R&D). It aims to strengthen European competitiveness by promoting market-oriented collaborative R&D.

For further information, please consult the following web address: http://www.eureka.be

CORDIS RTD-NEWS/© European Communities, 2001