06/12/2019 (Agence Europe) – The European Commission announced in a press release published on Thursday 5 December that it had selected 75 start-ups and SMEs for funding (over €278 million) for the pilot phase of the European Innovation Council (EIC). Some 39 of the selected companies will receive both a grant and an equity investment to help them commercialise their innovations. To the new Commissioner for Innovation and Research, Mariya Gabriel, this is an important step that shows the importance of the EIC in closing the financing gap for European SMEs and start-ups. The EIC, she said, has a “fully fledged” place in the next Multiannual Financial Framework. France will host the largest number of mixed funding projects (6) and Germany the largest number of projects benefiting only from grants (6). (PH)