Most East European EU countries are set to adopt national targets for research and development below the EU-wide goal of spending 3% of GDP on R&D by 2020. Only the Czech Republic appears ready to accept a national target at almost that level, according to a round-up by the EurActiv network.
At an EU summit on 17 June, most East European countries will try to secure national R&D targets lower than the EU-wide average of 3% of GDP proposed by the European Commission in its 'Europe 2020' strategy.
The countries' demands are hardly surprising given huge national disparities in research spending.
In Bulgaria, for instance, only 0.15% of GDP is spent on R&D. The country's education minister, Sergey Ignatov, recently said he could not figure out how the impoverished country could raise R&D financing to more than 0.6%, reported Dnevnik, EurActiv's partner publication in Bulgaria.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Czechs vie for top in Eastern European R&D league | EurActiv
Author: EurActiv
