Research & Technology in the EU

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

Applying for a patent: the European route — 13 March 2011, 22:14 CET

The European Patent Office's "Guide for applicants" has been designed to provide inventors, companies and their representatives with an outline of the procedure involved in applying for a European patent, offering practical advice to smooth the way through the various stages.

EU Research and Innovation Management Plan 2011 — 25 February 2011, 00:09 CET

In order to implement the European Commission’s work programme, each Commission department sets up its own work programme called the annual management plan. The Directorate General for Research and Innovation supports research and innovation through European Framework Programmes, coordinates and supports national and regional research and innovation programmes, contributes to the creation of the European Research Area by developing the conditions for researchers and knowledge to circulate freely and supports European organisations and researchers in their cooperation at the international level.

EU Information Society and Media Management Plan 2011 — 23 February 2011, 19:45 CET

In order to implement the European Commission’s work programme, each Commission department sets up its own work programme called the annual management plan. The mission of the Directorate General for the Information Society and Media is to make every European digital by achieving the digital single market and reinforcing Europe's competitiveness by increasing investment in ICT research and innovation,

EPO Official Journal January 2011 — 12 February 2011, 00:41 CET

The Official Journal of the EPO contains notices and information of a general character issued by the President of the European Patent Office, as well as any other information relevant to the EPC or its implementation.

European Innovation Scoreboard — 25 June 2018, 13:56 CET

The European Innovation Scoreboard provides a comparative analysis of innovation performance in EU countries, other European countries, and regional neighbours. It assesses relative strengths and weaknesses of national innovation systems and helps countries identify areas they need to address. The European Innovation Scoreboard 2018 was released on 22 June 2018.

Innovation Scoreboard: EU innovation good but not great — 03 February 2011, 18:16 CET

Innovation performance continues to intensify in the EU thanks to progress made by its Member States but Europe continues to lag behind Japan and the US, according to the first edition of the new Innovation Union Scoreboard.

Modernising the European public procurement market - guide — 27 January 2011, 17:20 CET

Public procurement accounts for roughly 17 per cent of the EU’s GDP. In times of tight budgets and economic difficulties in many Member States, public procurement policy must ensure the most efficient use of public funds, with a view to supporting growth and job creation. This would require flexible and user-friendly tools that make transparent and competitive contract awards as easy as possible for European public authorities and their suppliers. With these objectives in mind, the European Commission has today launched a consultation. This open debate with interested parties will focus on the modernisation of the rules, tools and methods for public procurement to deliver better on these goals. The deadline for responses to the Green Paper is 18 April 2011.

EUREKA News Magazine — 22 January 2013, 13:58 CET

EUREKA promotes international, market-oriented research and innovation. The EUREKA news magazine gives an overview of the network's main activities.

Galileo midterm review - guide — 21 January 2011, 00:13 CET

The European Commission presented its midterm review on the development of Europe’s satellite navigation programmes Galileo and EGNOS. Recent progress in the development of Galileo, including the signature of four major contracts and the testing of the first four operational satellites, means that the satellite navigation system will deliver initial services in 2014.

Ministers move forward on EU patent — 13 December 2010, 20:14 CET

'At today's Competitiveness Council, 11 Member States stated their agreement to work to implement the European patent via the procedure of enhanced cooperation,' announced Belgian Minister for Enterprise and Simplification Vincent Van Quickenborne on 10 December. His words mark the beginning of the end of a decades-long impasse on the difficult issue of a single European patent.

Three new energy research infrastructures get green light — 30 November 2010, 18:20 CET

Three new European energy research infrastructures have been given the go-ahead by European research ministers and the European Commission. The announcement was made at the Infrastructures for Energy Research conference (ENERI 2010) in Brussels, Belgium on 29 and 30 November.

Europe in full throttle for e-services economy — 19 November 2010, 23:45 CET

Europe's revolution in the e-services economy is advancing strongly, with the video games industry playing a crucial role in its success, says a new report published by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) on 18 November.

Overview of Competitiveness in 27 EU Member States — 28 October 2010, 12:55 CET

The Europe 2020 Strategy puts forward as a key priority for the Union the promotion of a more resource efficient, greener and more competitive economy. This Memo presents an abridged look at industrial competitiveness in all 27 EU Member States drawn from the report Member States competitiveness performance and policies. The main objective is to analyse industrial competitiveness across the Union and to present the policy measures Member States carry out to improve their competitiveness and, by implication, the competitiveness of Europe as a whole.

EU businesses post 2.6 pct drop in R&D spending — 27 October 2010, 23:42 CET

EU companies cut their research and development (R&D) investments by 2.6% in 2009, the new Industrial R&D Investments Scoreboard reveals. It is the first time that business R&D investments have fallen in a number of years.

EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard 2010 — 27 October 2010, 23:37 CET

The European Commission's 2010 "EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard" shows that R&D investment by top EU companies fell by 2.6% in 2009, even though sales and profits fell much more, by 10.1% and 21.0% respectively. The fall in R&D investment by leading players in the US, at 5.1%, was twice as sharp as in the EU, but the worldwide reduction was lower, at 1.9%. Japanese firms maintained their level of investment. Companies based elsewhere in Asia - China, India, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan - continued the high R&D growth seen in previous years. Japanese car maker Toyota is the world's biggest R&D investor (€6.8bn) for the second consecutive year. Three EU companies feature in the top ten: Volkswagen, the biggest investor based in Europe with €5.8bn, Nokia and Sanofi-Aventis. The Scoreboard covers the top 1400 companies worldwide.

Commission sets out EU approach to innovation — 07 October 2010, 16:27 CET

In a Communication presented on 6 October 2010, the European Commission maps out the road towards the Innovation Union, marking a new milestone for this flagship initiative launched as part of the Europe 2020 strategy.

Innovation Union, turning ideas into jobs, green growth and social progress — 07 October 2010, 12:43 CET

The Innovation Union is key to achieving the goals of the Europe 2020 Strategy for a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy. It aims to improve conditions and access to finance for research and innovation in Europe, to ensure that innovative ideas can be turned into products and services that create growth and jobs.

Innovation Union - turning ideas into jobs, green growth and social progress - guide — 07 October 2010, 16:29 CET

The European Commission's "Innovation Union", tabled on 6 October, sets out a strategic approach to innovation, driven by the highest political level. The Innovation Union will focus Europe's efforts – and co-operation with third countries - on challenges like climate change, energy and food security, health and an ageing population. It will use public sector intervention to stimulate the private sector and to remove bottlenecks which stop ideas reaching the market. These include lack of finance, fragmented research systems and markets, under-use of public procurement for innovation and slow standard setting. The Innovation Union is a "flagship" in the Europe 2020 Strategy.

Opportunity knocks ... for SMEs with language skills — 24 September 2010, 20:23 CET

This year's European Day of Languages highlights the potential and the challenges of multilingualism for the EU's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). First launched in 2001, this annual celebration of Europe's linguistic diversity will again translate into a broad range of events organised on and around 26 September.

EU launches CO2 capture and storage technologies network project — 20 September 2010, 22:09 CET

The EU is targeting a 50% reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2050. As part of efforts to achieve this goal, the European Commission launched on 17 September a tool supporting early large-scale demonstration of CO2 capture and storage (CCS) technologies.

Extreme weather won't affect crop output: JRC report — 11 August 2010, 10:53 CET

The European Commission says cereal production in 2010 will be close to the average recorded since 2005. According to a report drafted by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the yield per hectare will be 5% above average, while cultivated areas will shrink on the whole.

Scientists gain access to top European supercomputer — 02 August 2010, 23:22 CET

Scientists working on 10 research projects have been awarded precious computing time on JUGENE, one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world. The projects, which cover fields as diverse as astrophysics, earth sciences, engineering and physics, gained access to JUGENE thanks to the PRACE ('Partnership for advanced computing in Europe') project.

EU research: 51 new FP7 calls for proposals launched — 22 July 2010, 22:38 CET

The European Commission's Directorate-General for Research has published a series of calls for proposals under the 'Cooperation', 'Capacities', 'People' and 'Ideas' Programmes of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

Innovation must start from the market, not from R&D, SMEs tell Ministers — 14 July 2010, 23:07 CET

A better understanding of how small businesses operate and innovate is a must for the success of the upcoming “EU Innovation Act”, according to UEAPME, the European craft and SME employers’ organisation. Ahead of the informal Council of European Industry Ministers organised by the Belgian Presidency of the EU and starting today (Wednesday), UEAPME put forward a series of policy recommendations on how to maximise SMEs’ innovation potential.

Euro-MPs want to reduce animal testing — 12 July 2010, 20:14 CET

The use of animals in scientific experiments could soon be reduced by new legislation, approved by the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee on Monday, which aims for a balance between improving animal welfare and assisting research against diseases.