30/04/2020 (Agence Europe) – The European Commission announced on Thursday 30 April that the European Innovation Council's (EIC) Accelerator pilot programme would be funded with an additional €150 million to fund start-ups and SMEs offering innovations relevant to the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. This budget comes on top of the €164 million granted at the end of March to a previous call for tenders under this programme (see EUROPE 12447/3). Nearly 4,000 companies applied - including over 1,000 with innovations related to coronavirus. The start-ups and SMEs that will benefit from this programme will be made known at the end of May, the Commission says. The institution has also committed to awarding 'Seals of Excellence' to coronavirus applications that did not benefit from this new call, in order to support their funding from other sources. (AC)