Brussels to host eighteenth EUREKA Inter-Parliamentary Conference

Turkish Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek and Minister of Science, Industry & Technology Nihat Ergun will travel to Brussels to attend the 18th EUREKA Inter-Parliamentary Conference. Ergun and Cicek will travel to Brussels on a formal visit alongside attending the 18th EUREKA Inter-Parliamentary Conference on May 15 and 16, according to a statement released by the Turkish Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology on Tuesday. The conference will take place under the auspices of the Turkish Parliament and with the participation of Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament. An award ceremony will also be held to grant the EUREKA 2013 Innovation Award. -What is EUREKA?- EUREKA, founded in 1985, now unites 42 member countries. Together, they promote international, market-oriented research and innovation through the support they offer to small and medium-sized enterprises, large industry, universities and research institutes. Through EUREKA, these organizations are introducing new products, processes and services to market. -Turkey EUREKA's term president- Turkey is the term president of EUREKA between July 2012 and June 2013. The R&D agenda of EUREKA is determined under the presidency of Turkey during this term. According to an analysis held between 2000 and 2005, a government support of one million euro to EUREKA projects returns an added value of 13 million euros. -EUREKA and Turkey- Turkey, who was a co-founder of EUREKA, didn't take an active part in the program until 2006. 120 Turkish firms participated in 42 projects in the last two years and provided access to a 50 million euro project volume. While Turkey ranked the 28th among member countries in 2007, it became the 11th in 2011 with the projects it carried out.