European Union News - Research & Innovation

The European Union has published in its Official Journal of October, 20th, new measures that allow 3G phones to use GSM frequencies. This follows the European Parliament and Council of Ministers' agreement to modernise European legislation – the GSM Directive – on the use of the radio spectrum needed for mobile services. The new EU measures will foster stronger competition on Europe's telecoms market and make it easier for operators to provide faster, pan-European services such as mobile internet alongside today's GSM services. They will also boost the roll-out of wireless broadband services, one of the drivers of the EU's economic recovery.

The European Commission today launched a public consultation of professionals from the EU's audiovisual industry on how to best seize the opportunities and address the challenges of the 'digital revolution' in the EU film sector. Feedback from cinema and audiovisual professionals as well as national film agencies and other interested parties during the 2 month consultation opened by the Commission today will feed into a Communication early next year setting out the Commission's policy on digital cinema.

EIBURS provides grants to University Research Centres working on research topics and themes of major interest to the Bank. EIB sponsorships, of up to EUR 100 000 per year for a period of three years, are awarded through a competitive process to interested University Departments or Research Centres, associated with Universities of EU, Accession or Acceding Countries. Call is open until November 30th, and for the academic year 2009/2010, the EIBURS programme has selected a new line of research: Urban Development Funds in Europe: Opportunities, Structures, Operations

The European Research Area Board (ERAB) has released its first annual report, highlighting the need for a new spirit to be instilled in European research by 2030. The overriding message in the publication is the need for the kind of fervour for change that swept through Europe during the Renaissance period in the 15th and 16th centuries. Today, an equivalent revolution in thought, society and science is needed to deal with the undeniable challenges that confront the soon-to-be world population of nine billion people.

The European Commission has published a call for proposals under the work programme "People 2010" of the  Seventh Framework Programme, to finance with EUR 3.5 million the celebration of European Researchers' Night 2010, an initiative to approach science and citizens

The European Commission has called on Europe's information and communication technologies (ICT) industry to outline by 2011 the practical steps it will take to become 20% more energy efficient by 2015. ICT equipment and services alone account for about 8% of electrical power used in the EU and about 2% of carbon emissions. But using ICT in a smart way could help reducing energy consumption in energy-hungry sectors such as buildings, transport and logistics, and save 15% in total carbon emissions by 2020.

The European Commission has issued on October 10th, 2009, a Call for Proposals to support the re-integration of EU researchers within the Marie Curie Actions. This Call is launched under the 2009 Work Programme ‘People’ of the 7th EC Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration Activities. This Call is funded with 32 M€

The workshop on "Innovation awareness in regions", one of the 54 that compose theme A of the Open Days, has done a review of the initiative of the" European Innovation Weeks ", an idea promoted by Pro Inno Europe. These weeks, which have been developed in Riga, Berlin, Milan and the Danish city of Oresund, are an example of how to involve society in the European innovation policy.