r/europe 2d ago

Data Non-EU countries receive more funding from European Innovation Fund than 2/3 of EU countries combined

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u/eloyend Żubrza 🌲🦬🌳 Knieja 1d ago

There's plenty of countries working on very cool technology. Why i don't see any: Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Switzerland or USA on the list? Switzerland would make much more sense, if it's anything EU related, since at least it's a part of EFTA. And Switzerland is not currently engaged in genocide with a government run a by a guy pushing for war to stay in office.

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u/Minute_Tomatillo9730 1d ago

None in the level of Israel.

According to Neil DeGrasse Tyson there are two natural borders you can see from space. One is North Korea and South Korea (South Korea have a lot more economic activity so a lot more lights). The is Israel and its neighbours, because it's much greener from their irrigation technology compared to the surrounding countries. If this tech was so easy, they would have already adopted it!

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u/eloyend Żubrza 🌲🦬🌳 Knieja 1d ago

I guess it's easier to have very advanced technology when you're being sponsored by both EU and USA.

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u/zapreon The Netherlands 1d ago edited 1d ago

Israel's strong start-up culture is much more tied to the role of the military, e.g. cyber units, and massive promotion from the Israeli government than a few hundred million in funding from the EU. In the grand scheme of things, a few hundred million isn't much.

And that is what Israel excels in - innovation, not buying European tech.

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u/eloyend Żubrza 🌲🦬🌳 Knieja 1d ago

So if it's tied to military, I don't think EU should participate in any sort of funding agreement - even if it's supposed to be balanced per saldo.

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u/zapreon The Netherlands 1d ago

So if it's tied to military

The companies don't necessarily create tech for the military. Moreover, the EIB of course decided which companies and for what tech they get funding.

However, Israel's start-up culture is fostered partially within the military by how it is set up. For example, some cyber units in the IDF form a very resilient path into big tech (like Nvidia) or start-ups