Verbic: Horizon 2020 chance for small, medium enterprises

BRUSSELS - The European Horizon 2020 programme opens up great opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises, Serbia's Minister of Education, Science and Technology Srdjan Verbic said on Tuesday as Serbia joined the programme, aimed at encouraging innovation and scientific development.

"From now on, Serbia will be able to take part not only in using funds, but also in decision-making," Verbic told reporters in Brussels after a ceremony at which Serbia signed the agreement on joining Horizon 2020.

This programme is very favourable to scientific institutions, as well as to small and medium-sized enterprises, which will be able to bid with projects from now on, Verbic said.

In the past, Serbia has made successful bids in the FP programme - a precursor to Horizon 2020 - and the percentage of projects approved over the past years is higher than 15 percent, which is a very good result compared to the European average, Verbic said.

Horizon 2020, the biggest EU research and innovation programme ever with nearly EUR 80 billion of funding available over 7 years (2014 to 2020), is intended not only for EU member states, but also for candidate countries and aspiring countries.

Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Albania and Moldova also joined the programme on Tuesday.

Photo Tanjug, R. Prelic