Innovation and technology transfer barriers in Slovakia and other new EU member states

The performance of European Union in terms of R&D investment, innovations, and educational attainments generally lags behind that of its main competitors - the United States and Japan. Within the EU, the new member states from Central and Eastern Europe belong to the group of moderate innovators. As technology is the key component of the innovation system of the 2nd generation, this paper is dedicated to discussing the methods of technology transfer applied by innovation leaders in the EU (e.g. Germany or Finland) and to identifying the factors that may represent the main stumbling blocks in the way of more effective innovation procedures in the new member states (e.g. Governments´ preferences for FDI that is attracted by the relatively cheap and skilled labour force; investors´ preferences for using know-how developed in their home countries; the absence of venture capital available for R&D and technology transfers, etc.). As the situation in the new member states begins to change - wages are growing and the countries are building new research infrastructure with the help of the EU funds - a new innovation and TT paradigm enters the stage. We discuss the ways of coping with these new challenges – such as better governance in the field of patents, extended education of students in the field of innovative competences and entrepreneurial skills, deeper understanding of the operations of industry technology transfer organizations and improved access to venture capital.