European Union News - Research & Innovation

According to the results of the first edition of the new Innovation Union Scoreboard, the European Union is failing to close the innovation performance gap with its main international competitors, the US and Japan. Although the trends in most EU Member States are promising despite the economic crisis, progress is not fast enough and the Union will need to intensify efforts to bridge this gap, specially when it comes to support private sector and facilitate the exploitation of results from innovation.

EU-funded scientists have successfully demonstrated a road train technology that could boost road safety and driver comfort while cutting congestion and carbon emissions. In the system, the driver of the lead vehicle of a convoy controls the other vehicles, allowing their drivers to safely engage in other activities.

2011 has been declared by some EU organizations as International Year for Research on Alzheimer and neurodegenerative diseases. Within this context, the European Parliament has adopted in plenary session a report which calls for enhanced cooperation among members to improve early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer and other dementias. These initiatives are additional supports to the  firm commitment shown by the Commission in this area, as well as various research projects funded by the European Union.

Under the title “Ready to grow?, the European Commission has gathered together on 25 January, a important panel of experts and representatives from business and innovation agencies from all Europe in order to debate over the future of Competitiveness and Innovation Programme. This Conference is part of the series of actions aimed to determine future approaches and actions to be in place within a programme which is primarily focused on supporting innovative European SMEs.

The European Commission has adopted measures to make participation in the EU's current Seventh Framework Programme for Research more attractive and more accessible to the best researchers and most innovative companies, especially Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs). Based on the simplification plan unveiled by the Commission in April 2010, these measures will take effect at once at will also inspire access conditions for the next EU research and innovation programme.

Negotiations have begun for the 44 projects that were shortlisted to receive a share of the nearly 58 million euro available under the 2010 call for project proposals of the Intelligent Energy - Europe programme. These new projects are set to contribute to the wider use of renewable energy sources and increased levels of energy efficiency across Europe.

A single dose of vaccine against A(H1N1) pandemic influenza provided a good level of protection against the disease during the winter flu season 2009-2010, new research shows. The vaccine was particularly effective in those aged under 65 and in people without chronic conditions. The findings, published in the journal PLoS Medicine, offer an insight into the effectiveness of this winter's vaccine, which is designed to offer protection against H1N1 as well as other strains of influenza. Early indications are that H1N1 is the predominant strain in circulation this winter.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) highlights in its latest annual report that OECD members and non-members must drive science, technology and innovation (STI) investment in order to contend with intensified global competition and bolster long-term growth. STI offers societies the potential to tackle the myriad challenges they face, such as health issues and demographic change and therefore it is crucial to maintain STI investment.

The Official Journal of the European Union published on 13 January the Commission's Decision 2011/12/EU of 12 January 2011 amending Decision from 2007 which established the European Research Council. This provision follows the recommendations made during an independent review of its structures and aims at guaranteeing the efficiency and coherence of this institution.