(Reuters) – France and Germany are pushing for an EU-wide initiative to fund innovation and research in tech startup projects across the region so that Europe can compete more effectively against the likes of China and the United States.
Europe has long been seen as a laggard in developing new technologies compared with the United States, which has a strong venture capital industry funding Silicon Valley startups.The more risk-averse culture in Europe has also been cited as an obstacle to creating a “European Google,” partly because failure can carry more stigma than it does across the Atlantic.
