The Lisbon meeting of the European Council March 2000 recognized research and innovation potential of a country as the most effective factors of competitiveness of EU countries on the globalizing markets. This applies also for the candidate countries striving for access to the EU. In assessing the level of mentioned factors it is necessary to state that Slovakia is in this respect lagging behind. Particularly this applies to reduction of expenditure on scientific and research institutes. Expenditures on research and development (R & D) per 100 thousand inhabitants in the EU countries arc roughly 6-times higher than in Slovakia. Their share in GDP in Slovakia is 0.68 per cent compared to 1.86 per cent in the EU. Though reduction of employees in R & D was necessary in comparison with the economic potential of Slovakia, however, till 2000 it reduced below the. EU countries level. The number of R & D employees declined since. 1989 till 2000 by 75.3 per cent and in the enterprise sector even by 87.5 per cent. Personal expenditures on thousand employees of R & D account in Slovakia hardly for 20 per cent of the EU level. This high difference in material incentive is the main reason of emigration of researchers to foreign countries. Low level of expenditure is also for the innovation activities in the enterprise sector. Two factors are decisive: The first one consists in preferring import of modern technologies with the aim of decreasing the risk of developing them in domestic environment. The second one consists in strong reduction of R & D potential because of lack of financial means. In the EU countries from the total expenditure on innovations 22 per cent arc intended for investment and 53 per cent for domestic research. In Slovakia the relation is inverted: 33 per cent for investment and 13 per cent for domestic research. If this approach does not result in a radical decline of research potential, it can be accepted. Otherwise there is a threat that a dangerous gap would generate in intellectual potential jeopardizing perspective development of sophisticated industries. The share of innovating enterprises in total number of enterprises in manufacturing industry is in the EU countries three times higher than in Slovakia. At the same time the largest differences arise in those categories of economic activities which from the perspective development are most interesting (machine and equipment manufacture,. electrical and optical equipment manufacture, transport means and chemical product manufacture). Important part of innovation activities is the global economic climate. In this respect observations gained by surveys are very valuable. The expectations of enterprise sphere connected with the access of Slovakia to the EU can shortly be characterized as slightly positive. 51 per cent of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are of the opinion that the access of Slovakia to the EU will offer more opportunities for co-operation with firms in the EU countries and assertion on their markets. Only 11 per cent arc concerned about the impact of competition and 35 per cent of SMEs do not expect any change at all. As concerns the use of information technology, interconnection of personal computers to internet is used by 43 per cent of SMEs and electronic trade only 14 per cent. Microprocessors installed in production equipment are used only by 22 per cent. Concerning the level of production technologies roughly half of respondents consider it as similar. As most frequent barrier for broader use of modern production technologies some respondents declare small purchasing power (47 per cent), small domestic market (43 per cent), weak sale abroad (25 per cent) and high price (15 per cent). Important is the fact that only 4.7 per cent of SMEs invest systematically in renovation of technology on basis of a perspective strategy, on irregular basis 32.2 per cent and 63 per cent of entrepreneurs invest at random in case of instant need. This shows to weak preparation of enterprises for elaborating effective programs. From among 349 applications for venture capital over the years 1995 - 2000 233 of them were refused, i.e. 67 per cent, because of not meeting the required criteria.
