Brussels, 07/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - Ahead of the celebration of International Women's Day, the European Commission has announced the winners of the 2014 EU Prize for Women Innovators. They are Saskia Biskup (Germany, first prize), Laura van 't Veer (the Netherlands, second prize) and Ana Maiques (Spain, third prize). The competition celebrates women who have combined their scientific excellence with a head for business to set up innovative enterprises. It is open to women who have benefited from EU research and innovation programmes. The three winners will receive their prizes from President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso at the opening ceremony of the Innovation Convention 2014, Europe's premier innovation event which will take place in Brussels on 10-11 March. The three winners were selected by an independent panel of experts from a total of 67 applications. The contest is worth €100,000 for the first prize, €50,000 for the second and €25,000 for the third. Women represent only 33% of European researchers, 20% of full professors and 15.5% of heads of institutions in the highere sector. (LC)