ABSTRACT
Mechanisms aimed at making better commercial use of scientific ideas include the Esprit and Eureka technology projects, in which individual countries in Europe are collaborating and pooling research efforts in disciplines such as electronics, new materials, chemicals, and transport. The European Commission has developed several initiatives to cement stronger ties between academic institutions and the business community, particularly if they are pan-European. High-technology-based industries are the ones that will survive and prosper, creating wealth and employment and to some degree compensating for the decline in traditional European manufacturing industries such as steel, ship-building, and heavy engineering. The most prolific source of initiatives has been the European Community, which has launched a succession of subsidized programmes, including Esprit in information technology and Brite in factory automation. Venture capital is held by European politicians to be potentially important in attempts to catch up with the United States and Japan in the commercial exploitation of high technology.
