Latvia last on EU innovation index

BRUSSELS - Latvia has been ranked in last place in the latest EU innovation index, the Innovation Union Scoreboard (IUS), while Lithuania was the only country in the EU with a negative innovation growth rate.

Estonia, by contrast, ranked in 14th place - only slightly below the EU average.

The list was spearheaded by Sweden, followed by Denmark, Finland, and Germany. Though not an EU member state, Switzerland had the highest level of innovation of the countries included in the report.

This is the first year that the IUS has been used to rank European countries by innovation. It was compiled on the basis of 25 research and innovation-related indicators and covers all 27 EU Member States, plus Croatia, Serbia, Turkey, Iceland, Macedonia, Norway and Switzerland. It replaces the former European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS).

Latvia was last on the list, preceeded by Bulgaria, Lithuania and Romania. Lithuania was the only country with a negative growth rate in innovation, while Estonia had the second highest growth rate. Latvia's innovation growth rate was average, though still less than half that of Estonia.

"The Scoreboard shows that we need to step up our efforts in making Europe more innovative in order to catch up with our main competitors and recover that path of robust and sustainable growth," said European Commission Vice-President and Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship Antonio Tajani.