Message from Dorothee Bär, German Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space

Dear colleagues, dear innovators, dear Eureka network,

40 years of Eureka. What a success!

Eureka was founded 40 years ago in response to the big challenges Europe was facing at the beginning of the 1980s. Geopolitics and systemic rivalry shaped the world. We saw technological breakthroughs in personal computers and microchips. There was increasing global competition for leadership in high tech.

Doesn’t that sound similar to some of the key challenges we are facing today? What we are seeing is that geopolitics and systemic rivalry are on the rise again. There is a global race for leadership in technologies such as artificial intelligence that are about to reveal their huge transformational potential in all sectors of society and the economy. As in the 1980s, Europe’s competitiveness is under pressure.

What was true back then, is also true today: Innovative solutions based on science and technology are urgently needed to boost economic development and prosperity, and today in particular also to combat climate change, protect biodiversity, improve our health and safeguard democracy, freedom and security.

The foundation of Eureka in 1985 was a brilliant idea! Over the past four decades, Eureka has grown into a dynamic network for research and innovation cooperation right across borders and continents. In a multipolar world with global value chains, international cooperation is imperative. Yes, we have to achieve strategic autonomy in critical technologies. Yes, we have to protect research and economic security. However, this does not mean isolation. For Europe and for Germany, cooperation with our trusted partners around the globe is and remains a key priority.

Today, the Eureka network is a unique platform to connect talent, knowledge as well as public and private funding across borders, helping innovators to accelerate technological breakthroughs and turn them into sustainable growth and prosperity. There is a remarkably strong alignment between Eureka and the High-Tech Agenda Germany. Through its strong focus on market-oriented co-innovation in key future technologies, Eureka makes an important contribution to advancing our ambitions.

Germany’s partnership within the Eureka network has always been a win-win. As a founding member, Germany has continuously contributed to shape the network: from the Hanover Declaration in 1985 to our recent co-chair year with Canada in 2024/25. At the same time, thousands of German companies and research institutions in all technology areas have greatly benefitted from the opportunity to collaborate with European and international partners in innovative Eureka projects.

Germany will remain a strong and committed partner in Eureka. Together, we will continue to build bridges between countries, institutions and innovators – and shape a future driven by cooperation, creativity and technological progress.

Dorothee Bär
Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space
Germany