Irish companies are missing out on opportunities for business in the EU accession states, the Dublin office of the European Information Centre (EIC) said yesterday.

Only one per cent of Irish companies are exporting to the new accession states, the office told The Irish Times. This is despite the fact that in 2003, 61 per cent of exports from Ireland went to the other 14 EU member states.

The EIC has a data base that contains 3,000 companies in Europe and the rest of the world, 300 of which are specifically looking to do business with Irish companies. It is now providing a new Business Partner Search service, linking up Irish companies with targeted business partners in key country markets.

A monthly bulletin listing all those interested in finding a supplier or business partner in Ireland is accessible free of charge through the EIC's Irish website, www.eic.ie

Opportunities for Irish businesses in the EU accession states will be the subject of a conference to be hosted on April 7th in the Guinness Storehouse, Dublin.

"As Irish businesses continue to evolve away from traditional manufacturing and towards services industries, linking with low-cost EU accession companies will open new and lucrative markets to them," said Dr Ann Neville, manager of the Dublin office of the EIC.

"It is one year on since EU enlargement and Irish companies continue to miss out on the opportunities that exist."

Opportunities to be availed of are in key areas such as joint venture operations, investment vehicles, distribution, financial services and technology transfer.

The companies participating in the conference this week in Dublin will include Grafton Recruitment, Kingspan, AIB and Siebel Systems.

Representatives of these companies will talk about their experience of doing business in the accession states.

The EIC in Ireland is part of a network established in 1987 by the European Commission. There are five branches in the Republic and one in Belfast.

The EIC supports SMEs in all phases of their development and familiarity with Europe by providing them with information, assistance and advice in all EU-related areas.

With specialist staff, direct contacts within the European Commission and the support of its EIC Network, it can provide expert information, assistance and advice to help companies do business at home, in Europe and beyond.

In addition it acts as a 'conveyor belt' for feedback from SMEs to the European Commission.