Nokia and Siemens stay strong for R&D investment

Posted on 10 Dec 2004 at 13:12

The top 500 companies in the EU invested a total of €100bn in Research and Development during 2003, new figures from the European Commission reveal, but the figure was down on the previous year.

Among the five top spenders were Nokia and Siemens, who each invested between €4bn and €5.6bn during the year.

'We will need more European industrial R&D champions if we want to compete with our major trading partners in the global knowledge-based economy,' said European Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik. 'Reaching the three per cent target of research spending by 2010, a commitment endorsed at the highest political level in the EU, is needed now more than ever. With two-thirds having to come from the private sector, we need to create an environment that supports such investment. But the commitment of the companies themselves is crucial.'

Daimler Chrysler, Volkswagen and GlaxoSmithKline complete the top five.