Eureka (organisation)
Eureka, often abbreviated as E!, or Σ! is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation.
As of March 2018, Eureka has 41 full members, including the European Union, 1 partner country and 4 associated members. All 27 EU Member States are also members of Eureka.
Eureka is not an EU research programme, but rather an intergovernmental organisation of national ministries or agencies, of which the EU is a member. Cooperation and synergy are sought between Eureka and the research activities of the EU proper, notably with European Union's Horizon 2020 and the European Research Area.
History
Founded in 1985 by major figures of the European political scene, Eureka's steady growth over the years has helped to make it one of the longest running organisations dedicated to the financing of collaborative R&D projects.Foundation
Eureka was established with the Paris Declaration of 17 July 1985, and its principles are based on the later Hannover Declaration, subscribed by Ministers on 6 November 1985. The two main founders were former head of states François Mitterrand and Helmut Kohl. Other important personalities involved were Hubert Curien, French ex-Minister of Research and former Chairman of the European Space Agency and Jacques Attali, adviser to François Mitterrand.
Briefly, it is about assuring the technological independence of Europe in the key domains of the future; encouraging, wherever possible, cooperation between European businesses and researchers; mobilising the necessary financial resources; accompanying the efforts of our enterprises by creating the necessary environment and supporting the unification of our internal markets.
There are numerous obstacles. Once the initial idea of Eureka was formulated, we were able to foresee the difficulties to be faced. But we know that each time we come together — for example to address high-energy physics, research into nuclear fusion, the development of an integrated space programme or the construction of crucial scientific equipment — our successes encourage us in the idea that we can work together in R&D areas close to industrial markets, despite the problems arising from the normal and legitimate competition between firms.
Structure
Chairs
Before 1989, Eureka Chairmanship changed hands every six months. Since then, the Chairmanship rotates every 1 July, for a period of one year.| Year | Countries |
| 1985, 2nd semester | |
| 1986, 1st semester | |
| 1986, 2nd semester | |
| 1987, 1st semester | |
| 1987, 2nd semester | |
| 1988, 1st semester | |
| 1988, 2nd semester | |
| 1989–1990 | |
| 1990–1991 | |
| 1991–1992 | |
| 1992–1993 | |
| 1993–1994 | |
| 1994–1995 | |
| 1995–1996 | |
| 1996–1997 | |
| 1997–1998 | |
| 1998–1999 | |
| 1999–2000 | |
| 2000–2001 | |
| 2001–2002 | |
| 2002–2003 | |
| 2003–2004 | |
| 2004–2005 | |
| 2005–2006 | |
| 2006–2007 | |
| 2007–2008 | |
| 2008–2009 | |
| 2009–2010 | |
| 2010–2011 | |
| 2011–2012 | |
| 2012–2013 | |
| 2013–2014 | |
| 2014–2015 | |
| 2015–2016 | |
| 2016–2017 | |
| 2017–2018 | |
| 2018–2019 | |
| 2019–2020 | |
| 2020–2021 |
Membership
| Member country | Joined |
| 1985 | |
| 1985 | |
| 2010 | |
| 2000 | |
| 2002 | |
| 1995 | |
| 1985 | |
| 2001 | |
| 1985 | |
| 1985 | |
| 1985 | |
| 1985 | |
| 1992 | |
| 1986 | |
| 1985 | |
| 2000 | |
| 1985 | |
| 2000 | |
| 1999 | |
| 1985 | |
| 2006 | |
| 2005 | |
| 2012 | |
| 1985 | |
| 2008 | |
| 1985 | |
| 1995 | |
| 1985 | |
| 1997 | |
| 1993 | |
| 2005 | |
| 2002 | |
| 2001 | |
| 1994 | |
| 1985 | |
| 1985 | |
| 1985 | |
| 1985 | |
| 2006 | |
| 1985 | |
| 1985 |
| Associated Countries | Joined |
| 2012 | |
| 2019 | |
| 2014 | |
| 2017 |
| Partner Countries | Joined |
| 2009 |
| National Information Points | Joined |
| 1991 | |
| 2009 |
Selected projects
Eureka projects are numbered, preceded by 'E! '.- E! 45 helped to fund the Prometheus project for safer road vehicles, such as through autonomous driving with 745 million euros.
- E! 95 was a 730 million euros HDTV project, which created the HD-MAC standard for high definition television.
- E! 147 was a 93 million euros digital audio broadcasting project whose technologies went into Musicam, and which was used as the basis for MPEG-1 Layer II and used in DAB, and ASPEC, which was used in a modified form in MP3 audio.
- E! 127 paid 3.8bn euros into the JESSI project whose goal was to regain ground lost to Asia and the US in microchips.
- E! 2551 cost 6.1 million euros for the integration of existing CAD/CAM programs under a common user interface, part of which was paid to Vero Software.
- E! 3674 is Information Technology for European Advancement and Easy Interactions.
- E! 4986 AlienVault developed a security software called OSSIM that is now not only a reference in the field but also an essential component in modern cyber-wars. E! 4986 received 1.2 million euros.
- E! 3728 OMIM invented a new method of medical waste disposal. MIMO is safe for the environment and treats infectious waste by applying a combination of heat and pressure. This is an alternative to incineration methods that use fossil fuels. The project was an initiative between Spain, Portugal and Morocco. E! 3728 received 0.37 million euros.
''Clusters''
;Eureka Clusters are
- CELTIC NEXT: Telecommunications
- EURIPIDES: Electronic packaging and smart systems
- ITEA 3: Software-intensive systems
- PENTA: Micro and nanoelectronics enabled systems and applications
- EUROGIA2020: Low-carbon energy technologies
- METALLURGY EUROPE: New metals
- SMART: Advance manufacturing programme
''Umbrellas''
;Eureka Umbrellas were
- Eureka Tourism
- Eureka build 2
- EuroAgri Foodchain
- Pro-Factory
- E! SURF