News from Albania

European Union: Albania joins the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme

3rd July, 2008  

The European Commission and Albania have signed a Memorandum of Understanding according to which the latter joins the Entrepreneurship and Innovation pillar of the European Union Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP).  This will allow Albanian businesses to take full advantage of best practices on entrepreneurship, SME policy, competitiveness and innovation in the EU and to participate in the new Enterprise Europe Network to increase the competitiveness of Albania's enterprises, especially SMEs. This will complement a favourable regulatory framework for SMEs, which has been updated through Albania's participation in the European Charter for Small Enterprises since 2003.

Montenegro, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey and Israel have also already joined the CIP .

Related Links : Commission press release    ; 
IPR-helpdesk document "The Competitiveness and Innovation Programme in a Nutshell"

Related news item in IPR-Helpdesk : 2008/01/04. European Union. Albania will join the 7th Research Framework as an associated country

Albania joins EU FP7 research programme

Brussels, 17 December 2007

Today, Albania will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with the European Commission allowing it full participation in the EU's Seventh Research Framework Programme (FP7). "Associated status" allows Albania to participate in all calls for proposals and compete on an equal footing with the EU Member States for research co-operation and support actions funded by FP7, as of 1 January 2008. As such, this agreement is an important part of the process of applying to join the EU, allowing scientists, universities and companies to create links with their counterparts across Europe and build up their scientific expertise, including in scientific fields crucial to implementing the body of EU legislation. Albania is now added to other countries in the Western Balkans regions that are associated to FP7 – Serbia, Croatia, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

“I strongly believe that the countries of the Western Balkans have much to gain from participating in FP7, as part of their EU membership perspective,” said Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potočnik. “Working with EU scientists and companies, and other scientists and companies in their own region, can bring many benefits – scientific, commercial and political. I applaud Albania for the decision which they are taking today to work with us and their regional partners."
Commissioner Potočnik will sign the Memorandum on behalf of the European Commission at a ceremony held in Brussels on 17 December, with the Albanian Education and Science minister Genc Pollo representing his country.

The Seventh Research Framework Programme is the biggest EU programme with a budget of more than 50 billion Euros over a time span of 7 years (2007-2013). It allows for funding of collaborative research in strategic areas such as health; energy; information technologies, nanotechnology or transport. FP7 also stimulates the mobility of researchers through Marie-Curie grants and has special programmes to support capacity building such as research infrastructure, research for small and medium sized enterprises, Science in Society, Research potential with special calls for the Western Balkan Countries and international cooperation actions aiming at improving the dialogue among regional partners.

Association to FP7 means that these countries compete in FP7 on the same basis as EU Member States. It opens up research opportunities for the European scientific community. Traditionally the Balkan countries have a solid scientific base and deeper research cooperation with the EU will allow for a greater flow of ideas, people and transfer of technology.
For more information on international science and technology cooperation:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/iscp/index.cfm