Eureka

Eureka, byname of European Research Agency, cooperative organization inaugurated in 1985 by 18 European countries and formally established with a secretariat in Brussels in 1986. Its purpose is to promote high-technology industries by linking the efforts of various companies, universities, and research centres and channeling moneys for their research. The original 18 member countries were Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The organization later expanded to include several other European countries as well as Russia and Israel.

The aim of the organization, first suggested by France and West Germany, is to strengthen European efforts in areas of strategic research—such as advanced electronics, computers, lasers, transport systems, and environmental control—by encouraging companies and research institutions in different countries to pool their efforts and develop marketable products. By the organization’s charter, a project must include participants of more than one country, offer an identifiable expected benefit, seek a significant technological advance, and secure adequate financial commitment from the companies involved. The participants may (and usually do) receive compensatory research grants or subsidies from their national governments. The secretariat in Brussels acts as a clearinghouse for proposals for research projects.