At the cutting edge

Article Abstract:

The drive for technological self sufficiency and cooperation has enabled many European Community (EC) high technology companies to assume a world leadership role in manufacturing products such as semiconductors and consumer electronics even though Europe has traditionally trailed the US and Japan in this area. As examples, The Ariane rocket project is now a profitable commercial venture, unlike the US space shuttle. West Germany's Siemens has taken the four-megabyte semiconductor chips into the production stage, ahead of Japanese and US competitors. France's largest consumer electronics firm, Thomson, leads the world in VCR and HDTV technology. EC firms have achieved success by: purchasing and mastering existing technology and developing old generations into the new. Successful firms also have converted defense technology into products with commercial applications.

High technology industry, European Union, European Community

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Esprit evades the soft option

Article Abstract:

The European Strategic Programme for Research and Development of Information Technology (Esprit) was set up in 1984 by the European Community. Esprit, a $5 billion program centered on cooperative research between universities and information technology (IT) companies, was set up to ensure that the EC would remain competitive with the US and Japan in the field of IT. Esprit has emphasized the need for R&D to remain competitive, and European IT companies have doubled their spending on IT since 1986 and now spend more than the US and Japan. Esprit officials claim that 152 projects have led to the development of new products and services. Observers criticize Esprit, saying that it concentrates too much on computer hardware and nor enough on software, but program head Michel Carpentier believes that the EC must be strong in all areas of the IT industry.

Europe, Information technology, ESPRIT program, Carpentier, Michel

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