Vienna and Bratislava join forces in bid for EIT

Slovakia has joined Austria’s bid to host the proposed European Institute of Innovation and Technology in the hope that a twin-city headquarters initiative will convince ministers to give them the nomination.

The proposal was presented on 6 May by MEPs from the two countries, who explained that the governing board and auditing body would be on the Slovakian side, with executive functions carried out on the Austrian side. 

Problems with practicalities concerning the split geography were dismissed by Slovak Deputy Prime Minister Jan Mikolaj, who argued it would actually make it easier as it would “facilitate the independence of financial control and prevent the crossing-over of remits”. 

The move was welcomed by Austrian MEP Hannes Swoboda, who believed the project was a “further step to transcend national borders, not only in practice but also in our minds”. 

The joint bid joins three other contenders to host the institute: Budapest, Wroclaw and Sant Cugat del Valles near Barcelona. The Competitiveness Council is expected to reach a decision on 29-30 May. The EIT governing board is expected to convene this autumn and launch its first operations by the end of 2009.

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