EU innovation efforts unknown

BY PHILIP EBELS

BRUSSELS - The efforts of the EU to turn the old continent into an "innovation union" are largely unknown to business leaders, according to a survey released on Tuesday (8 May) by global accounting firm Ernst & Young.

Not more than 27 percent of those polled "are aware of the European Commission's efforts to promote innovation," it says.

The survey, conducted by Brussels-based think-tank Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) during the first two months of this year, is based on a sample of 680 "business leaders" from 15 EU member states from all four corners of the Union.

The low result can partly be explained by the fact that "not all respondents are in fact chief executive officer," says Andrea Renda, researcher at CEPS and author of the report.