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Innovativeness in Austria Drops
In the European comparison, Austria’s innovativeness is dropping and is presently located only in the upper mid-range.
Innovativeness in Austria Drops / Picture: © Vindobona.org
The EU Commission prepared a study to determine the innovative capability of its Member States. Among the 27 EU states, Austria’s ranking in terms of innovation has decreased by one position and now lies at seventh place. The top places go to Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Germany, something not at all surprising. Switzerland would lead the ranking if non-EU countries were considered. Before Austria there are also Great Britain and Belgium in the ranking. The last places are shared by Latvia, Bulgaria and Lithuania.
The "open, attractive and excellent research systems” are considered to be Austria’s strengths. When it comes to entrepreneurship and intellectual capital, Austria also comes out well. Weaknesses are however present concerning the growth of EU trademarks, licenses and patents. Equipping startup companies with more risk capital is also something that is not done as much as it should.
Furthermore, the study shows clearly that Europe was hardly able to come near the United States and Japan. It is said in Brussels that progress is not fast enough. The EU itself is being continuously followed by China, and Brazil is also making progress. Russia and India are further away despite the progress being made.