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Research & Technology in the EU

Latest news about research and innovation policy in the European Union.

Key Enabling Technologies 22 June 2012, 12:23 CET
A significant part of future goods and services are as yet unknown, but the main driving force behind their development will be Key Enabling Technologies (KETs), such as nanotechnology, micro- and nanoelectronics including semiconductors, advanced materials, biotechnology and photonics. Mastering these technologies means being at the forefront of managing the shift to a low carbon, knowledge-based economy. They play an important role in the R&D, innovation and cluster strategies of many industries and are regarded as crucial for ensuring the competitiveness of European industries in the knowledge economy.

"Science: it's a girl thing!" campaign 21 June 2012, 17:51 CET
With the European Union needing up to one million additional researchers by 2020, the European Commission has launched a campaign to get more girls interested in science and encourage more women to choose research as a career. Women make up more than half the EU's student population and 45 per cent of all doctorates (PhDs), but they account for only one third of career researchers. Women PhD graduates are also still a minority in engineering and manufacturing. The three year campaign will first seek to get teenage girls interested in studying science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM subjects). The focus will then broaden to female students more generally, encouraging them to consider research careers.

Telecommunication Market and Regulatory Developments 2011 19 June 2012, 12:00 CET
Greater data consumption and a shift to mobile technologies (such as smartphones) and mobile services (such as 3G internet, music streaming and webmail) are the most significant trends in the information & communications technologies (ICT) sector, which now accounts for 8 million jobs and 6% of EU GDP, according to the Annual Digital Agenda scoreboard.

Digital Agenda Scoreboard - need for structural economic reform across Europe and surplus of ICT jobs 19 June 2012, 12:04 CET
Europe's citizens, businesses and innovator s are generating enough digital demand to put Europe into sustainable economic growth, but failure to supply enough fast internet, online content, research and relevant skills is undermining this potential. Greater data consumption and a shift to mobile technologies (such as smartphones) and mobile services (such as 3G internet, music streaming and webmail) are the most significant trends in the information & communications technologies (ICT) sector, which now accounts for 8 million jobs and 6% of EU GDP.

European Patent Office Annual Report 2011 25 March 2012, 13:53 CET
2011 was a record year at the EPO. It received almost 250 000 patent filings, the highest number ever in its 34-year history, showing that European patents are in high demand across the globe, and that Europe remains attractive for innovative industries. In the European Patent Office annual report, you will find key trends and detailed statistics, a report on its strategies and activities, plus a video message from President Benoît Battistelli.

New EU Agency for managing large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice 22 March 2012, 18:19 CET
A new agency for managing large-scale EU information systems was inaugurated on 22 March 2012 in Tallinn, Estonia, with the attendance of Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström. Its main task will be to en­sure that the Visa Information (VIS) and EURODAC systems operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Agency is due to become fully operational as of December 2012.

Parliament and Council must bring "Horizon 2020" in line with SMEs' needs 22 March 2012, 15:40 CET
UEAPME issues position paper; calls for 15% dedicated budget, single entry point; rejects attempts to dilute SME definition

Communication on "High-Performance Computing": Europe's place in a Global Race 15 February 2012, 21:47 CET
High Performance Computing (HPC) is critical for industries that rely on precision and speed, such as automotive and aviation, and the health sector. Access to rapid simulations carried out by ever-improving super computers can be the difference between life and death; between new jobs and profits or bankruptcy.

Plan to make EU the world leader in High-Performance Computing - guide 15 February 2012, 22:03 CET
The European Commission on 15 February set out a plan for the EU to reverse its relative decline in HPC use and capabilities. Under this plan the EU will double its investment in HPC (from EUR 630 million to EUR 1.2 billion) and become home to computers that can perform 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 (i.e. 1018) operations per second ("exa-scale"), before 2020. Half of the investment would be for development and training and for new centres of excellence, creating thousands of jobs.

Innovation Union Scoreboard 2011 08 February 2012, 00:04 CET
The Innovation Union Scoreboard includes innovation indicators and trend analyses for the EU27 Member States, as well as for Croatia, Iceland, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland and Turkey. It also includes comparisons based on a more reduced set of indicators between the EU27 and 10 global competitors.

The Innovation Union Scoreboard - guide 08 February 2012, 00:06 CET
This memo provides an overview of the research and innovation performance of the different EU Member States, and associated and neighbouring countries, as measured by the Innovation Union Scoreboard 2011. The Scoreboard is prepared by the Maastricht Economic and Social Research and Training Centre on Innovation and Technology (MERIT), in collaboration with the Commission's in-house science service, the Joint Research Centre (JRC).

eBSN eBusiness Solutions Guide 24 January 2012, 19:12 CET
This web-based guide is created by the European Commission as part of the European eBusiness Support Network (eBSN). It provides a review of the eBusiness and IT solutions market and supports companies and consultants to find and select appropriate software products, solutions, and service providers.

European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Strategic Innovation Agenda - guide 30 November 2011, 17:05 CET
The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) is to significantly step up its efforts to drive innovation and entrepreneurship in the EU with the creation of six new cross-border innovation hubs, known as Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs), in 2014-2020. The European Commission has allocated a budget of €2.8 billion in the next financial framework to enable the EIT to expand and consolidate the development of its existing KICs which focus on climate change, sustainable energy and ICT.

Patents on chimpanzees, sperm cells and human genes - European Patents 'black List' published 28 November 2011, 13:24 CET
Today Testbiotech is publishing a “Black List” of European Patents that have already been granted. Ten examples, granted since 2009, were selected for the list in cooperation with the Initiative “No Patents on Life”.

Antimicrobial Resistance - guide 17 November 2011, 17:57 CET
With about 25,000 patients dying per year in the EU from infections caused by drug resistant bacteria and related costs of over 1.5 billion euros in healthcare expenses and productivity losses , antimicrobial resistance is a growing health problem in the EU. Today, on the eve of European Antibiotic Awareness Day, the European Commission tabled a comprehensive Action Plan on Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) which unveils12 concrete actions to be implemented in close cooperation with the EU Member States.

Binge drinking more common in northern Europe 09 November 2011, 13:25 CET
The relationship between drinking and damage to one's health is stronger in the Baltic countries and Sweden than in Italy, new research from Europe shows. The findings, published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, suggest that the northern part of Europe tends to report higher alcohol-harm relationships because of a stronger propensity to indulge in heavy episodic drinking, what experts label 'binge drinking'.

Connecting Europe Facility - CEF Digital 12 October 2022, 23:29 CET
The digital part of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF Digital) will support and catalyse both public and private investments in digital connectivity infrastructures between 2021 and 2027.

A pilot for Europe 2020 Project Bond Initiative - EC legislative proposal - guide 19 October 2011, 22:56 CET
The European Commission has tabled a plan which will fund EUR 50 billion worth of investment to improve Europe's transport, energy and digital networks. The "Connecting Europe Facility" will finance projects which fill the missing links in Europe's energy, transport and digital backbone. To assist with the financing of the Connecting Europe Facility, the Commission has also adopted the terms for the Europe 2020 Project Bond Initiative which will be one of a number of risk-sharing instruments upon which the facility may draw in order to attract private finance in projects. The pilot phase will start next year.

Connecting Europe Facility - guide 19 October 2011, 22:46 CET
The European Commission has today tabled a plan which will fund €50 billion worth of investment to improve Europe's transport, energy and digital networks. Targeted investments in key infrastructures will help to create jobs and boost Europe's competitiveness at a time when Europe needs this most. The "Connecting Europe Facility" will finance projects which fill the missing links in Europe's energy, transport and digital backbone. It will also make Europe's economy greener by promoting cleaner transport modes, high speed broadband connections and facilitating the use of renewable energy in line with the Europe 2020 Strategy. In addition the funding for energy networks will further integrate the internal energy market, reduce the EU's energy dependency and bolster the security of supply.

Commission Recommendation on the definition of nanomaterial - guide 19 October 2011, 13:45 CET
"Nanomaterials" are materials whose main constituents have a dimension of between 1 and 100 billionth of a metre, according to a recommendation adopted by the European Commission on 18 October. The announcement marks an important step towards greater protection for citizens, clearly defining which materials need special treatment in specific legislation.

The 2011 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard 18 October 2011, 22:55 CET
The 2011 "EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard" (the Scoreboard) collects information on the top 1000 EU companies and 1000 non-EU companies investing the largest sums in R&D in the last reporting year. The Scoreboard includes data on R&D investment along with other economic and financial data from the last four financial years.

EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard 2011 - guide 18 October 2011, 23:01 CET
The European Commission's 2011 "EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard" shows that R&D investment by top EU companies recovered strongly in 2010, with a 6.1% rise following a 2.6% decrease in 2009. However, data for the world's top 1400 companies show EU companies as a whole lagging behind major competitors from the US and some Asian economies on R&D growth. There was a general positive trend in 2010, as global R&D investment increased by 4%, a robust up-turn after the 1.9% drop observed in 2009. The global top 50 in terms of total R&D investment includes 15 EU companies, 18 US firms and 13 from Japan. Two pharmaceutical companies occupied the top spots: Roche from Switzerland (€7.2bn) followed by Pfizer from the US (€7bn). Volkswagen (€6.3bn), in sixth place, is the biggest EU investor in R&D, followed by Nokia (11th with €4.9bn), Daimler (13th with €4.8bn) and Sanofi-Aventis (14th with €4.4bn).

Innovation Union competitiveness report 2011 05 October 2011, 19:19 CET
The present Innovation Union Competitiveness report monitors progress towards the EU and national R&D headline targets and provides economic evidence and analysis to underpin EU and national policy making in support of Innovation Union. It aims to complement the overall review of Europe 2020 targets in the European Commission Annual Growth Survey by offering a deeper perspective on R&D intensity targets at EU and national level and presenting evidence on the dynamics of knowledge-intensive firms and other aspects of innovation. The report also extends and complements the Innovation Union scoreboard indicators to address the whole cycle of innovation, including the impact of research and innovation on raising competitiveness and tackling societal challenges.

Progress in the Development of Alternative Methods to Animal Testing for Cosmetics - Commission report 14 September 2011, 20:03 CET
The European Commission presented on 13 September its yearly report on Alternative Methods to Animal Tests in the Field of Cosmetics to the European Parliament and Council.

Funding boost of EUR 7bn for Innovation Union 21 July 2011, 13:17 CET
Research is set to remain high on the EU's political agenda as Research, Innovation and Science Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn announces the release of nearly EUR 7 billion for stimulating European innovation through research funding.