European Union News - Research & Innovation

The Joint Research Centre (European Commission) wants to improve the entreprenerurship spririt between its staff by organising three entrepreneurship training seminars to be carried out in liaison with relevant JRC staff and the Turku School of Economics. As the JRC has seven scientific institutes, located at five different sites in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, the training will take place in any of those places.

In order to finance and stimulate innovation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the European Commission has proposed measures to boost cross-border investments of venture capital funds. Up to now venture capital funds, which are vitally important for the financing of growing innovative small companies, face too many problems to overcome different national regulations for cross-border fund raising and investment. For this reason they often don't reach the necessary critical mass.  Venture capital is being increasingly important for environmental sustainability (€1.25 billion was raised in 2006). Sustainable venture capital funds invest in the range of €1-5 million with focus on early-stage and typical investments in renewable energies and clean technologies.

On 29 January six winning projects from four EU member states - Italy, Austria, Hungary and France - were awarded trophies at the Sustainable Energy Europe Awards ceremony taking place under the umbrella of the second European Sustainable Energy Week. The European Commission initiative aims to raise public awareness on the use of renewable energy sources and energy-efficient methods. The winners were awarded for the exceptional work they have already accomplished but, above all, for the commitment they have made to the sustainable future.

The European Steel Technology Platform (ESTEP) decided, on 27th February 2008, to launch a second phase of the Ultra Low CO2 Steelmaking research programme. ULCOS-II will be the world’s most ambitious Research and Development (R&D) effort to reduce process-related CO2 emissions in steelmaking. The current ULCOS project brings together steelmakers, companies in the steel supply chain, research laboratories and universities to devise the breakthrough technologies that can bring about enhanced reductions in CO2 emissions from steelmaking, with almost €30m of funding already allocated from the EU's research programmes, including the Coal and Steel Research Fund managed by the European Commission. The next phase will require significant levels of investment – the first industrial-scale demonstration is estimated at €300 m.

On the 25th January 2008, Montenegro will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the European Commission which will allow it full access to the EU's 7th Research Framework Programme (FP7) which runs from 2007 to 2013. This "associated status" will allow Montenegro to participate in all calls for proposals and compete on an equal footing with the EU Member States for research co-operation and support actions funded by FP7, as of 1 January 2008. This agreement can therefore be seen as an important step in the process of applying to join the EU. It will allow Montenegrin scientists, universities and companies to create links with their counterparts across Europe and build up their scientific expertise, including in scientific fields crucial to implementing the body of EU legislation. With Montenegro, all countries of the Western Balkans except Bosnia and Herzegovina are now associated to the European Union research effort.

Following calls for proposals launched in December 2006, the European Commission is about to select a total of 93 projects to be funded under the two programmes that address research and policy actions on science, economy and society. This memo outlines a sample of these projects. Details of all successful projects will be available on CORDIS. Final figures and partnerships are subject to contract negotiations between the project teams and the European Commission.

The Commission announced that it will contribute 30 € million to two new and important joint programming activities involving a substantial number of Member States (MS) on the 4 January 2008 in Brussels. These activities will ultimately result in a considerable number of MS organising joint calls in the areas of metrology and the Baltic sea. These actions, known as ERA-NET Plus and developed under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), will help to structure the European Research Area and enhance the scale of Europe's common research efforts. iMERA-Plus, bringing together 32 national metrology institutions, will receive €21m from FP7, with Member States contributing a further €42 to carry out research into precise and reliable measurements. The European Commission will also allocate €9 million to BONUS+, a research programme to develop an ecosystem-based approach to management of the Baltic Sea, which will involve 8 Member States that border the Baltic, and Russia. The countries concerned will contribute a further €18.7 million.

The Commission has proposed to reduce emissions from trucks and busses of nitrogen oxides by 80% and particulate matter by 66% compared to the Euro V stage. The new ‘Euro VI’ standard will significantly contribute to a further improvement of air quality in Europe. It will also be a step forward towards global harmonisation as it foresees limit values similar to those of the United States of America. Furthermore current legislation will be simplified as directives (which need to be transposed in 27 different national legislations) will be replaced by regulations which are directly applicable. The Euro VI should enter into force in 2013. The proposal has bee subject to stakeholder and internet consultations, and will now be discussed by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers.