Moreover, the report argued that the meagre reductions are unlikely to take place in Europe because there is an ample supply of cheap international offset credits. As a result, European emissions could actually increase by 34% from current levels by 2016, it said.

The EU ETS was revised for the post-2012 period and a tighter cap was introduced. However, Sandbag warned that the recession has rendered these caps obsolete, as over-allocation of permits for some sectors will come back to haunt the integrity of the scheme after 2012.

Heavily over-allocated sectors, notably steel and cement, could bank their unused allowances for use when the economy picks up again, the report argues. By then the carbon price will have risen, but the sectors will already possess the permits they need and thus have no incentive for improving their efficiency.

"Unless they are adjusted to reflect our new circumstances, the EU ETS risks becoming an albatross around the neck of European climate policy, a carbon trap rather than a carbon cap, obstructing the mitigation efforts of the EU and its member states," said Sandbag campaigner Damien Morris.

Sandbag argues that 1.8bn permits will likely be carried over to the post-2012 phase, undermining investment in low-carbon technologies. This could be corrected by increasing the EU's emissions reduction target from 20% to 30% by 2020 and tightening the cap accordingly, it suggested.

For this to happen, the European Commission has estimated that 1.4bn allowances would have to be set aside in the 2013-2020 period (EurActiv 03/05/10). But while countries like the UK and the Netherlands and more recently France have expressed their support for a higher target, member states in Central and Eastern Europe say it would be too expensive.

Sandbag's analysis shows that Romania received the biggest surplus in 2009 in absolute terms, while Cyprus got the largest surplus compared to emissions.

Full story click here:

http://www.euractiv.com/en/climate-environment/minuscule-co2-savings-expected-eu-scheme-news-497676

Astronomers confirm location of new class of black hole

Thu, 9 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A little more than a year ago, European and US astronomers discovered a black hole millions of light years away and weighing over 500 solar masses. They labelled it Hyper-Luminous X-ray source 1 (HLX-1). Now the scientists from France, the UK and the US offer the world proof of the distance and brightness of this ultra-luminous X-ray source, confirming that it does indeed lie in a nearby galaxy and signalling a new class of black hole. Their findings, presented in The Astrophysical Journal, demonstrate that HLX-1 is neither in our own galaxy and nor is it a huge black hole at the heart of a distant background galaxy.

More here

Turkey to join Europe�s electric grid

Thu, 9 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

After extensive work by General Electric to enable Turkey’s system to connect, the country will join up for a one-year trial, according to the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity.

Turkey’s electric links run to Bulgaria and Greece, and they have recently been upgraded to carry more energy. A result will be one of the largest interconnected grids in the world.

Turkey has many hydroelectric projects. In a wet year, it may have more hydro power than it can use; now this power can be exported. And as Europe adds intermittent renewable sources, a hydroelectric system can function as a shock absorber.

Biodiversity consultation

Thu, 9 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on a future EU strategy to conserve biodiversity and ensure the provision of ecosystem services by 2020. The consultation will feed into the final strategy document, which is expected to be published on 14 December 2010, following the agreement on a global biodiversity conservation target at the COP10 in October.

The EU has adopted a target for 2020, aiming at “halting the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystem services in the EU by 2020, and restoring them in so far as feasible, while stepping up the EU contribution to averting global biodiversity loss”. The consultation is therefore intended to gather input from stakeholders on the policy options for this strategy. The Commission intends to build the new strategy around a limited number measurable strategic sub-targets:

Sustainable land management – agriculture and forestry
Sustainable use of natural resources – fisheries
Protecting habitats and species – nature conservation
Working with nature and investing in natural capital – Green Infrastructure
Preventing the introduction and spread of invasive species
The EU’s contribution to global biodiversity

The consultation asks for opinions on the necessity of each of these sub-targets, and which actions should be taken. The consultation mainly consists of multiple choice questions, but there is space for additional comments. The consultation runs until 22 October.

More here.

The information above was provided by Scotland Europa

Scotland Europa, Scotland House Rond-Point Schuman 6, B-1040 Brussels, Belgium
T +32 (0)2 282 8303 F +32 (0)2 282 8318, www.scotlandeuropa.com

Scientists publish bulk of turkey genome

Thu, 9 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

An international team of scientists has sequenced over 90% of the genome of the domestic turkey (Meleagris gallopavo). Details of the genome, published in the PLoS [Public Library of Science] Biology journal, shed new light on avian biology and could help turkey producers deliver a better product.

The work was partly supported by the EU through the QUANTOMICS ('From sequence to consequence - tools for the exploitation of livestock genomes') project, which is funded to the tune of EUR 6 million under the 'Food, agriculture and fisheries, and biotechnology' Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

More here.

What could you do with �100k of project funding? Would your idea create a new or unexpected market opportunity?

Wed, 8 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Four areas where the underlying challenge can lead to huge opportunities are energy, sustainability, healthcare and sustainability.

Focusing on these areas you are invited to enter the £600k competition for disruptive solutions. But it is not a standard competition.
The competition is being run in three stages: 1) an initial video pitch which is open to all - your £25k proposal. 2) a written submission for those that are selected from stage one - what would you do with up to up to £100k? and 3) a live pitch for £100k at Innovate 10 on 12 October in London for the three best proposals in each area.

In the first instance you've got to be quick. The deadline for your video pitch is noon on Thursday 16 September. Entry to the competition is through the Innovate 10 website and you can find further details here. Good luck and I hope to see you in October.

Photovoltaic power grows in EU

Wed, 8 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Is photovoltaic (PV)-generated electricity taking the world by storm? Latest figures released by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) point to a steady, growing trend in this green energy area. Newly installed PV cells generated 7.4 gigawatts (GW) of power globally in 2009, of which 5.8 GW were produced in Europe, says the JRC its 9th annual Photovoltaics Status Report, released on 6 September.

The EU covered 75% of PV cells installed in 2009. According to the study, conducted by the JRC's Institute for Energy (IE), cumulative installed PV power production capacity (both new and existing) stood at 16 GW by 31 December, representing around 70% of the 22 GW global capacity.

More here.

Scientists uncover 'totally crazy mechanism' behind much genetic diversity

Wed, 8 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

UK scientists have shed new light on a gene that appears to drive much human evolution and genetic diversity. The research, published in the journal Nature Genetics, was led by the University of Leicester's Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, the father of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) fingerprinting. The gene is behind what Professor Jeffreys calls a 'totally crazy mechanism' that plays a key role in promoting genetic diversity.

More here.

EU floats method for handing out free CO2 permits

Tue, 7 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The draft benchmarking decision sets the rules for allocating free emissions allowances to EU companies for the 2013-2020 trading period under the EU emissions trading scheme (EU ETS).

Benchmarking was part of the revision of the EU's flagship instrument for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, which sought to avoid the pitfalls of over-allocation and windfall profits for companies that have plagued the scheme in the past.

The Commission's climate action department has now identified some 50 product benchmarks covering around three quarters of relevant emissions, Hans Bergman of DG Climate Action told journalists. For other products, heat or fuel consumption will be used as the basis for benchmarking.

The benchmarks are identified for products such as cement, steel, lime, chemicals and glass.

These values will serve as thresholds for what installations get for free, the official explained. They are based on the average performance of the 10% most carbon-efficient installations in a given sector (based on 2007/08 data) and take into account the most efficient techniques.

The list is the first draft to be subjected to inter-service consultation within the EU executive. It was submitted for consultation yesterday.

The Commission did not want to give any details of individual benchmarks or values at this stage, but Bergman said that the products are practically all included in the list of sectors vulnerable to "carbon leakage".

The list includes 164 sectors which the EU executive reckons would be at risk of relocating their activities outside of the EU if they had to buy allowances for every tonne of CO2 they emit (EurActiv 21/09/09).

Sectors on the list will get 100% of the benchmarked allowances for free, while others will get 80% in 2013, declining to 30% in 2020.

The benchmarks do not concern the power sector, which for the most part will have to buy its permits at auction.

€100bn until 2020

The allocation decision is not insignificant, as the Commission estimates that the six billion or so allowances that will be allocated for the 2013-2020 trading period will add up to around €100 bn.

Once the Commission decision is out, member states will calculate by 30 September 2011 the amount of allowances to be allocated to individual installations based on the benchmark in question and historical production figures over a number of years.

Only the most efficient installations will be able to go without purchasing additional allowances, Bergman said.

Environmentalists have expressed concern that powerful industry lobbies will manage to bargain for high benchmarks, which would translate into subsidies for carbon-intensive sectors. EU businesses, on the other hand, say they will lose out to foreign competition if the benchmarks are set too harshly.

Bergman said that the benchmarks will become less challenging as 2020 approaches as a result of technological development. He claimed that the 50 draft benchmarks are "relatively uncontroversial".

One sticking point is free allocations for waste gases, which are mainly used by the steel industry to produce electricity. The industry wants 100% free allocations, arguing that anything else would discourage such efficient use of the gases, while environmentalists say this would be no more than a subsidy for heavy industry.

"We have taken the line that since there is no free allocation for electricity, they should not get completely free allocation for electricity production with waste gases but some kind of reduction," Bergman said.

He added that the steel industry would still get "probably quite a lot" for generating electricity, and the wrangling between the steel industry and the EU executive was mainly about the size of the free allowances.

A 'complicated, expensive waste of time'

Sanjeev Kumar of E3G, an environmental group, argued that the Commission's benchmarking exercise is "a complicated, expensive waste of time". He argued that if there are free allocations for waste gas emissions, this will subsidise big industry at the expense of smaller sectors like tile and brick-makers.

Bergman also cast doubt on the Commission's plan to set aside 800 million allowances for a 'technology accelerator' to support deployment of existing technologies and innovation in the sectors.

"If there are allowances left over […], some of the revenues could be used to support the best innovative technologies," the official said. But he added that at this point it is not possible to know whether the final amount of allowances will exceed the predetermined maximum amount, in which case all allowances would go to companies.

"It's only in a year and a half that we'll know if we really can go ahead with this," he said.

Full Story here:

http://www.euractiv.com/en/climate-environment/eu-floats-method-handing-out-free-co2-permits-news-497653

Progress seen on 'Green Fund' for climate deal

Tue, 7 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Environment ministers and senior officials meeting in Geneva also examined how to raise a promised $100 billion a year in climate aid from 2020 - perhaps from carbon markets, higher plane fares or taxes on shipping - to be managed by the Fund.

"We think we should be able to establish the Green Fund in the conference in Cancún," Mexico's Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa said after the informal 2-3 September talks among 46 nations in Geneva.

Mexico will host an annual UN climate meeting in Cancún from 29 November to 10 December. A Green Fund is meant to help poor nations shift from fossil fuels and cope with projected floods, droughts, mudslides and rising seas caused by climate change.

Espinosa said any deal in Cancún would fall short of a treaty, part of a lowering of hopes after the UN's Copenhagen summit in 2009 agreed only a non-binding deal. Cancún might decide to build any deals into a treaty, perhaps in 2011.

"We created a lot of expectations in Copenhagen that we would get a comprehensive, legally binding solution. We are no longer fixated on that," Swiss Environment Minister Moritz Leuenberger told a news conference with co-host Espinosa.

Forests, clean tech

Espinosa said a Green Fund would only be agreed as part of a broad package in Cancún, including ways to share clean-energy technologies or protect carbon-absorbing forests. She said all elements of the package had to be agreed, or none.

US climate envoy Todd Stern told a news conference that the meeting had been "pretty constructive".

"The biggest issue is [...] this has to be part of a package. We are not going to move on the Green Fund, and the $100 billion, if issues central to the Copenhagen Accord, including mitigation and transparency, don't also move," he said.

Stern also reiterated that US President Barack Obama was committed to cutting US greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 even though the Senate has failed to pass legislation. The United States is the only major developed nation with no legal cap.

Connie Hedegaard, the European Union's climate commissioner, said that there was "some convergence" on the Green Fund but little sign of movement on underlying issues from China and the United States, the top greenhouse gas emitters.

"We've seen nothing new coming out of the US, nothing new coming out of China. So we have to be very practical," she said of a focus on steps that fall short of a treaty.

Earlier, the Netherlands launched a UN-backed website to try to track how far rich nations, struggling with austerity, are able to keep a pledge made in Copenhagen to give poor nations $30 billion in "new and additional" climate aid from 2010-12.

Christiana Figueres, the UN's climate chief, said the cash was a "golden key" to convince poor nations that the rich were serious in taking the lead to curb global warming. Under the Copenhagen Accord, flows would surge to $100 billion a year from 2020.

So far, the website lists cash promises by six European donors including Germany and Britain and 27 recipients from Bangladesh to the Marshall Islands. Stern said Washington would submit US data in coming weeks.

Many of the developing nations' sites, listing cash received, are blank.

http://www.euractiv.com/en/climate-environment/progress-seen-green-fund-climate-deal-news-497486

Diabetes drug still available despite suspension advice

Mon, 6 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A drug for type two diabetes is still being prescribed in the UK despite being recommended for withdrawal two months ago, BBC Panorama has found.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11170878

MEPs re-allocate crisis funds to energy efficiency

Mon, 6 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The European Parliament's industry, research and energy committee gave its unanimous blessing to European Commission proposals to use unspent money from the European Energy Recovery Programme (EERP). The initiative will create a dedicated financial instrument to support regional and local projects in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Since the programme started in 2009 with a budget of €3.98 billion, money has been allocated to energy interconnections, offshore wind and carbon capture and storage demonstration plants as a priority.

But the Commission now estimates that €115 million will go unspent until the end-of-year deadline, which can be freed for energy efficiency and renewables projects.

MEPs argued that the instrument will create new jobs in regions, which will make them more attractive places to live and aid social integration.

Under the plan, eligible projects will need to have a rapid and significant impact on economic recovery, boost energy security and cut greenhouse gas emissions. Such projects could involve combined heat and power and district heating networks, grid-connected decentralised renewable production and clean public transport and electric vehicles, as well as electricity storage solutions, smart metering and smart grids, MEPs said.

The new rules will go some way towards correcting the bias towards fossil-fuels that MEPs had detected in the programme. Along with CCS, they had insisted on including energy efficiency and smart cities.

For the full story please click here

Catalogue of FP7 Environment Theme Projects 2007-2010

Mon, 6 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Presented according to research themes, the 325 page document contains details of all the projects that have been funded so far under the ‘Environment (including climate change)’ theme.

The document is here.

Fostering Cooperation with Latin American Countries in the Areas of Environmental Research

Mon, 6 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The Commission has published a document, in the context of the FP7-ENV-2011 call for proposals highlighting opportunities and measures aiming to foster and support international cooperation in EU funded environmental research.

The main objective of this document is to present and highlight, in the context of the call for proposals FP7-ENV-2011, opportunities and measures aiming to foster and support international cooperation in European Union (EU) funded environmental research. The current call for proposals deploys incentives promoting participation of partners from Latin American countries, such as the targeted topics for research and technological development.

The first part of the document contains a comprehensive set of extracts from the main documents composing the information package for applicants. The second part briefly presents the 22 projects with Latin American participation which have so far been selected for funding under the Environment theme.

FP7 Food, Agriculture and Fisheries and Biotechnology Theme: Reflection Paper

Mon, 6 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A reflection paper has been produced by the Commission providing background for preparation of the annual Work Programmes of FP7 Theme 2 'Food, Agriculture and Fisheries and Biotechnology'.

The reflection paper of the FP7 Theme 2 "Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnology" serves as the basis for the overall strategy and priority settings for the period 2007-2013 and in addition it is used as the main reference text in the preparation of the annual Work Programmes.

The paper is structured around the four activities of Theme 2: "Sustainable Production and Management of Biological Resources from Land, Forest and Aquatic Environments"; "Fork to Farm: Food (including seafood), health and well being", "Life Sciences, biotechnology and biochemistry for sustainable non-food products and processes", and Activity 4 which covers horizontal activities.

The reflection paper is here.

Fungus-farming ants use antibiotic combo to kill off weeds

Mon, 6 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Scientists from China and the UK have discovered that a leaf-cutting ant, Acromyrmex octospinosus, uses a cocktail of antibiotics to keep its fungus gardens neat. Among these antibiotics, which are produced by bacteria living on the ants, is a novel compound that could be used to treat fungal infections. The study, published in the journal Biomed Central (BMC) Biology, is the first to demonstrate that a single ant colony uses multiple antibiotics

More here.

Municipal manure does the environment good

Mon, 6 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

One of the biggest challenges facing us today is what to do with our growing mountains of rubbish. Recycling has found a solid niche in our households, but how can we help shrink the landfills that number more than 150,000 in Europe? According to researchers in Ireland, compost production may be the answer to our problem.

Experts at Teagasc (Ireland's Agriculture and Food Development Authority) and University College Dublin say municipal waste and manures can become an important source of disease-suppressive composting material which keeps plant diseases at bay.

More here.

Scientists shed light on age-related illness

Mon, 6 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Edinburgh scientists are attempting to find the trigger which leads older people to develop dementia.

The University of Edinburgh study will focus on proteins found in the body to try to find out why they clump together as people get older.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11178078

New competition for innovative technologies

Fri, 3 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

UK businesses are being invited to compete for support to develop innovative technologies to create new growth areas for the UK economy.

The Technology Strategy Board is inviting collaborative applications from organisations operating in a range of technology areas.

'We are particularly keen to hear from organisations with ideas for 'enabling technologies',' says David Bott, the Technology Strategy Board's Director of Innovation Programmes.

'An 'enabling technology' is one that can lead to the creation of other products and processes that support future development. In this way, it establishes long term opportunities for economic development.'

The competition opens on 12 October. More information can be found here.

Protein in Huntington's linked to neurogenesis

Fri, 3 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

EU-funded scientists have discovered that a mutated protein inherent in Huntington's disease (HD) performs an unforeseen role in neurogenesis. The finding could lead to a better understanding of HD, an inherited neurodegenerative disorder that is characterised by severe psychiatric, cognitive and motor defects, and neuronal death in the brain. The work was supported by CEPODRO ('Cell polarization in Drosophila'), a project that received EUR 1.159 million under the European Research Council's Starting Grant scheme. Findings from the study are published in the journal Neuron.

More here.

MIRACLE project to advance cancer care

Fri, 3 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

An EU funded project is focused on developing a fully automated, integrated lab-on-a-chip (LOC) system for the detection and characterisation of circulating and disseminated tumour cells, CTCs and DTCs. The novel LOC will lead to faster and cost-efficient diagnosis of cancer.

The project is supported under the 'Information and communication technologies' (ICT) Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

More here.

Get help with your Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking Call proposals!

Fri, 3 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The deadline for proposals to the 2010 Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) Call is 13th October 2010.

Proposal clinics

The Energie Helpline team is providing proposal clinic (one to one meetings of 1 hour with a member of the Helpline team to discuss your proposal) and proposal review services prior to the this deadline.

Proposal clinic sessions are available in London on Thursday 16th September. Register your interest in attending a clinic session by sending a proposal summary to energie@enviros.com. Energie Helpline UK will then allocate the sessions and inform you of the time for your meeting. If you would like to attend a clinic session but are unable to attend on this date in London, contact Energie Helpline UK.

Proposal review

Energie Helpline UK will be offering a proposal review service between Monday 27th September and the proposal deadline. Please contatc them using the details below if you anticipate that you would like a review your proposal to avoid dissappointment.

Pontypridd event

The Energy Generation and Supply Knowledge Transfer Network, in collaboration with Welsh Assembly Government and University of Glamorgan, is holding an event which will give attendees the opportunity to update on strategic thinking on fuel cells and hydrogen, and its implications, across key high level public sector funding stakeholders. The event is taking place in Pontypridd on 23rd September. This event is free to attend. If you would like to attend, please register here. A member of the Energie Helpline team will be available during the event breaks for discussions about proposals that are being prepared for the European Call deadline of 13th October 2010. If you would like to meet with a member of the Energie Helpline team on that date then please send a short summary of your proposal, your draft proposal if available or a list of your questions to energie@enviros.com by Friday 17th September.

You can contact Energie Helpline UK with your queries on 0161 874 3636 or by email on energie@enviros.com
www.energiehelpline.co.uk

Future phones just got smarter

Thu, 2 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The Flexible Training Opportunities programme gives Scottish businesses with 1-50 employees the opportunity to apply for up to £500 towards employee training costs.

More here.

Search for innovative technologies that may be the next new growth area for the UK economy

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Businesses across the UK are being invited to compete for support to develop innovative technologies that could create new growth areas for the UK economy.

The Government-backed Technology Strategy Board' competition will seek to identify and award up to £18m funding to the most innovative businesses, in order to keep the UK at the forefront of modern technology and enhance quality of life.

Collaborative applications are sought from organisations operating in a range of technology areas where the UK has considerable strengths; Advanced Materials, Biosciences, Electronics, Photonics and Electrical Systems, High Value Manufacturing, Information & Communications Technology and Nanotechnology.

"We are particularly keen to hear from organisations with ideas for 'enabling technologies'," says David Bott, the Technology Strategy Board's Director of Innovation Programmes.

"An 'Enabling Technology' is one that can lead to the creation of other products and processes that support future development. In this way, it establishes long term opportunities for economic development."

The Technology Strategy Board will be opening the competition on October 12th 2010 and is hoping that this competition will attract innovations from a variety of businesses with novel ideas that have reached proof-of-concept stage.

More here.

Report sets out ambitions to grow the Scottish television broadcast and production sector by 60% over next 3 years

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Scotland’s Television Broadcast and Production Working Group today publish their report into how Scotland’s television sector can achieve significant growth over the next three years, increasing turnover from £215m to £346m and increasing employment from 2,910 to 4,676.

More here.

TAIEX Programme

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

TAIEX is the Technical Assistance and Information Exchange instrument managed by the DG Enlargement of the European Commission. TAIEX supports partner countries with regard to the approximation, application and enforcement of EU legislation. It is largely demand driven and facilitates the delivery of appropriate tailor-made expertise to address issues at short notice.

What service does TAIEX offer?

To provide short term technical assistance and advice on the transposition of EU legislation into the national legislation and on the subsequent administration, implementation and enforcement of such legislation.
To bring ENPI partner countries closer to the European Union through increased economic integration.
To provide technical training and peer assistance to partners and stakeholders.
To be an information broker by gathering and making available information.
To provide database tools for facilitating and monitoring the approximation progress as well as to identify further technical assistance needs.

Technical assistance through the TAIEX instrument comes in many different forms and across a wide range of areas. Partner administrations can benefit from TAIEX’s flexibility to help meet wider training needs in EU legislation by reaching a significant number of officials. At the same time, it is important to retain an awareness of and be responsive to more targeted requests. In this regard, the expert and study visit format, depending entirely on requests received from beneficiary partners, provides a complementary institution building service.

Typology of actions
Study visits are visits made by a limited number of officials of the beneficiary countries to Member State administrations. They give an opportunity to the beneficiaries to work alongside Member State officials to discuss legislation, experience first-hand administrative procedures and infrastructure and see examples of best practices.
Expert missions usually one or two Member State experts travelling to beneficiary partner countries. They provide an opportunity to discuss draft legislation, present examples of best practices and lend assistance where requested. The preferred format is working sessions involving an exchange of knowledge between the beneficiary countries and the experts.

Who are the Beneficiaries of TAIEX assistance?
The TAIEX mandate to provide assistance covers the following groups of beneficiary countries:

Croatia, Turkey, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia;
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo (as defined in UN Security Council Resolution 1244 of 10 June 1999);
Turkish Cypriot community in the northern part of Cyprus; and
Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia, Ukraine and Russia.

The beneficiaries of TAIEX assistance includes those sectors, both public and private, who have a role to play in the beneficiary countries in the transposition, implementation and enforcement of EU legislation or in the case of the ENPI countries, in deepening economic and political cooperation by sharing the experience gained during the enlargement process.

The main target groups are:
Civil servants working in public administrations; at national and sub-national level and in associations of local authorities;

The Judiciary and Law Enforcement authorities;
Parliaments and civil servants working in Parliaments and Legislative Councils;
Professional and commercial associations representing social partners, as well as representatives of trade unions and employers’ associations;
Interpreters, revisers and translators of legislative texts.

TAIEX does not provide direct support to private citizens, or to individual companies.

Activities per Sector
The TAIEX programme is managed centrally by the Institution Building Unit (IBU) of the Directorate-General for Enlargement. Activities are divided as follows:

Agriculture and Food Safety;
Freedom, Security and Justice;
Infrastructure: Environment, Transport and Energy;
Internal Market;
Support to the Turkish Cypriot community;
TAIEX and the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP);
Regional Training Programme;
Translation.

Further information:
TAIEX website
Expert Missions, Study Visits and Assessment Missions
TAIEX statistics for sectors

The information above was provided by Scotland Europa

Scotland Europa, Scotland House Rond-Point Schuman 6, B-1040 Brussels, Belgium
T +32 (0)2 282 8303 F +32 (0)2 282 8318, www.scotlandeuropa.com

Assistance for attending the international conference on marine ingredients

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

On the Sept 20th-21st Olso is hosting an international conference on marine ingredients (detail here).

This conference will be a good opportunity for UK academics and companies to look for opportunities to contribute to emerging industry. The Technology Strategy Board and the Biosciences KTN will be attending and would to hear of anyone from the UK who will be attending or wishes to attend.

There may be some funding available for companies wishing to visit.

Contact John Sime john.sime@biosciencektn.com and Merlin Goldman merlin.goldman@tsb.gov.uk for further information.

Norwegian hydropower can aid Europe's move towards renewables

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

"Norway can help Europe introduce more volatile renewable energy sources into the market by providing a sustainable backup," said Nobuo Tanaka, the International Energy Agency's executive director. "To have more renewables, we need more interconnectivity."

In particular, Tanaka threw his weight behind a proposal to lay two sea cables between Norway and the UK, which would let the UK draw on Norwegian hydropower when there's insufficient wind to produce wind energy.

Norway's lakes and rivers already provide electricity for many households in the country as well as power companies in other Nordic countries and the Netherlands.

Christian Rynning-Toennesen, the chief executive officer of Statkraft, a state-owned company that operates more than 100 hydropower plants in Norway, called for the country to become the "battery of Europe."

Tanaka said he approved of the image.

"Connecting Norwegian hydropower to the bigger European market would be far better than relying on gas for the same purpose," said Tanaka, whose Paris-based agency advises 28 member countries on energy issues.

Consultation on future of E-commerce in Europe

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

E-commerce constitutes an important means to promote cross-border trade, improving the accessibility of Europe’s population to more varied products, to more qualitative products and exerting greater price competition in the online and offline world. However 10 years after the adoption of the E-Commerce directive, the development of retail electronic commerce remains limited to less than 2% of total European trade.

The ‘Electronic Commerce’ Directive aims to remove barriers to the establishment of providers of information society services and to the cross-border provision of online services in the internal market, giving both businesses and citizens’ legal certainty. Technologically neutral, it also covers a broad range of topics – so not only e-commerce in the business to business and business to consumer senses – but also online newspapers, online financial services etc.

The Commission wishes to study in detail the various reasons for the limited take off of electronic commerce and evaluate the implementation and successes of the Directive. For this purpose, the Commission wishes to consult interested parties directly and receive their reaction and experience on a number of subjects as detailed on the below website.

http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/consultations/2010/e-commerce_en.htm

The deadline to reply is 15^th October 2010 with respondents able to complete either the entire questionnaire or just those parts relating to the respondent’ activities and interests.

Car versus plane: travel and the climate change debate

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

According to the results of an EU-funded study, car travel increases global temperatures more than an air travel for the same journey but only in the long term. Travelling by plane, on the other hand, adversely affects short-lived warming processes at high altitudes.

The project was funded under the 'Sustainable development, global change and ecosystems' Thematic area of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).

More here.

First call for the Media Mundus Programme

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The new Media Mundus programme is the successfor to the media Internaional preparatory programme 2008-2010 and is, in its essence, a broad international cooperation programme for the audiovisual industry to strengthen cultural and commercial relations between Europe’s film industry and film makers of third countries. The EU will provide 15m EUR of funding from 2011-2013 for projects submitted by audiovisual professionals from Europe and from third countries.

With a 5m EUR budget, this first call for MEDIA Mundus focuses on actions taking place between 1^st February 2011 and 31^st March 2010, in the fields of training, market access, distribution and circulation of audiovisual worls.

The deadline for the submission of applications is 15^th October 2010.

More info is available here: http://ec.europa.eu/culture/media/mundus/index_en.htm

Funding boost for European Tourism sector

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The overall objective of this call for proposals is to strengthen the research potential on competitiveness and sustainability tourism-related issues of European scale, in particular by encouraging and supporting the development, across Europe, of regional ‘research-driven clusters’, pulling together the work being done by Universities, research centres, businesses and regional authorities.

The specific objectives are:

To improve cooperation and coordination on research activities related to competitiveness and sustainability tourism related issues so as to create a more favourable framework for the tourism sector.
To foster transnational research actuivities in the field of tourism with a clear EU added value
To pave the way for the future constitution of a European knowledge network for the competitiveness and sustainability of European tourism (‘virtual tourism observatory’)

The deadline to submit proposals is 1^st October 2010

The call documents as well as more information are available at:

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/newsroom/cf/itemlongdetail.cfm?item_id=4474&tpa_id=136&lang=en

Decisions, decisions... two heads are better than one

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Are two heads better than one when it comes to solving problems and reaching decisions? Yes, says a team of EU-funded researchers from Denmark and the UK after discovering that two heads are indeed better but only when both partners are equally competent and could agree after discussing the problem soundly.

More here.

Social Robotics : A robot that identifies doors from their handles.

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The University of the Basque Country team has met to the challenges of a creating self-aware machine. The intelligent robots that appear in the movies have little relation to real life, although the tendency in current robotics to create machines that are as independent as possible is a fact..

More here.

Vitamin D deficiency linked to autoimmune diseases and cancer

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Researchers in the UK and Canada have identified 229 human genes that are influenced by changes in vitamin D levels. Several of these genes are implicated in cancers and to autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. The findings, published in the journal Genome Research, have important implications for public health, in particular prenatal care.

More here.

Scientists create liver cells from skin

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Scientists at Cambridge University have used stem cell technology to convert skin from patients with metabolic diseases into liver cells.

Their pioneering study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, enables researchers for the first time to investigate exactly what is happening in a diseased liver cell and to test the effectiveness of potential treatments.

For further information on this story please click here: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/4bac6d72-b05a-11df-8c04-00144feabdc0.html

UK researchers release draft sequence coverage of wheat genome

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A team of UK researchers, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), has publicly released the first sequence coverage of the wheat genome. The release is a step towards a fully annotated genome and makes a significant contribution to efforts to support global food security and to increase the competitiveness of UK farming.

More information on this story can be found on the following link: http://esciencenews.com/articles/2010/08/26/uk.researchers.release.draft.sequence.coverage.wheat.genome

Governments seek to help innovative SMEs

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Governments have introduced a range of schemes to help small firms, including tax credits for research investment, the development of "innovation centres," support for business angels and schemes to link SMEs with universities and industry.

The EU's innovation strategy – expected in September – is likely to address several of these issues, although there is much debate as to whether the plan will be a blueprint for business or a researchers' charter.

UK plans to create enterprise culture

An expert report prepared for the previous government in the UK called for the creation of "elite, business-focused" Technology and Innovation Centres (TICs). These centres are designed to do research but also engage SMEs by providing advice on funding, commercialisation and intellectual property.

The UK's new government is expected to continue with this policy, notwithstanding the need to control public spending. There is strong emphasis on the need to support entrepreneurship despite the need for budget cutbacks.

Cable's department for Business, Innovation and Skills has committed itself to backing free and open markets, as well as promoting "business and innovation through entrepreneurialism and individual engagement in the economy".

The new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition has also pledged to create "an enterprise culture where everyone with talent is inspired and able to turn ideas into successful businesses". Cutting red tape and offering incentives to start-ups are among the promises.

For the full story click here

For information or advice on how you can become more innovative in Europe, please contact Enterprise Europe Scotland on info@enterprise-europe-scotland.com or 0141 228 2797

Call for proposals - Knowledge networks for the competitiveness and sustainability of European tourism

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Knowledge networks for the competitiveness and sustainability of European tourism

Deadline: 1 October 2010

The overall objective of this call for proposals is to strengthen the research potential on competitiveness and sustainability tourism-related issues on European scale, in particular by encouraging and supporting the development, across Europe, of regional ‘research-driven clusters’, associating universities, research centres, enterprises and regional authorities.

The specific objectives are:

to improve cooperation and coordination on research activities related to competitiveness and sustainability tourism-related issues so as to create a more favourable framework for the tourism sector
to foster transnational research activities in the field of tourism with a clear EU added value
to pave the way for the future constitution of a European knowledge network for the competitiveness and sustainability of European tourism ("virtual tourism observatory")

More here.

Change in environment sparks stem cell cross-over

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

EU-funded scientists have discovered that stem cells from one of the immune system's main organs can be reprogrammed to form hair follicle stem cells. The key lies in altering the environment in which the cells are grown. These results demonstrate that it is possible to alter stem cells without genetic manipulation. Details of the study are published in Nature.

This research was supported by the EU's Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) and Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) as part of the work of three projects.

More here.

Better design with more savings

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A new design methodology, process and tool environment has been created under the four-year SPEEDS ('Speculative and exploratory design in systems engineering') project that is set to significantly enhance Europe's embedded systems industry.

Designed for model-based, safety-critical systems, the product not only improves design quality but cuts down on time and cost. SPEEDS was funded more than EUR 9 million under the 'Information society technologies' (IST) Thematic area of the EU's Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).

More here.

Germany wants EU to plug 'innovation gap'

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Germany wants to see the European Research Area anchored in the European Plan for Research and Innovation, and is pushing for less red tape as well as mutual recognition of common national funding procedures.

The German federal government outlined its views in a guideline paper presented to the European Commission earlier this year.

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Movement of passengers and freight by air is expected to grow significantly over the next decade. This will require a dramatic improvement in air to ground communication if air traffic management systems are to cope with the increase in demand.

The EU-funded B-VHF project developed technical solutions for aeronautical communications as well as advancing the long-term policy goals of the European Union.

More here.

Marie Curie Actions � Opportunities for Industry and Information Events

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

What are the Marie Curie Actions and what are the opportunities for industry?

The Marie Curie actions are part of the European Commission’s Framework Programme 7 (FP7) for European Research and Technological Development (2007-2013). They are implemented through the FP7 ‘People’ programme and provide funding opportunities for international and inter-sectoral mobility and training at all stages of a researcher's career.

While most of the Marie Curie Actions are open to organisations from all sectors, there are two schemes
with open calls which particularly focus upon the involvement of commercial organisations , with the aim of encouraging inter-sectoral mobility, partnerships and knowledge transfer and broadening the skills-base and career options of researchers. These are the Industry-Academia Partnerships and Pathways scheme and the Initial Training Networks scheme.

What is the definition of industry in this context?

Both schemes require the involvement of at least one private sector partner; for these purposes the private sector is said to “comprise organisations gaining the majority of their revenue through
competitive means with exposure to commercial markets.”

The Industry-Academia Partnerships and Pathways (IAPP) Scheme

The IAPP Scheme aims to open and foster interactions between public research organisations and private commercial enterprises, in particular SMEs. Financial support is provided for the development of strategic partnerships between such organisations through: the exchange of know-how and experience through inter-sectoral two-way secondments of research staff; the recruitment of experienced researchers from outside the partnership for involvement in transfer of knowledge and/or training of researchers; and networking activities, networks and conferences to facilitate sharing of knowledge and culture between the participants.

Participating SMEs can also claim for costs relating to small equipment costs up to a maximum of 10% of
the total Community contribution, if they can be justified for the project.
Benefits for commercial partners include:

Research staff seconded from academic partners;
Potential to recruit funded staff specifically to work on the project;
Establishment of links with academic partners in Europe and the UK;
Potential to form the nucleus of network with possibility of applying for larger EU research grants, e.g., through FP7 Co-operation programmes.

Partnerships must as a minimum involve at least two organisations, one from each sector and from at least two different Member States or Associated countries, but beyond this the funding scheme aims to be flexible. The closing date for the 2010 call for proposals is 7 December 2010 at 17:00 Brussels time.

The Initial Training Networks Scheme

The ITN scheme aims to improve the career prospects of researchers in the first five years of their research career (early stage researchers), both in the public and private sectors. Funding will be provided for the establishment of training networks, which will offer fellowships to doctoral researchers and early post-docs.

Each network must comprise at least three different research groups from different member states or associated countries and must involve a commercial organisation. Commercial organisations can be involved at one of two levels: as a full participant, meaning that they recruit early stage researchers directly into their organisation; or as an associated partner, meaning that they provide secondment and training opportunities for researchers recruited into the other partners.
Benefits for the commercial partner include:

The possibility of recruiting doctoral researchers and early post-docs to work on research projects in their organisation;
The chance to contribute to the training of a new cohort of researchers working in their field;
The development of networks and partnerships with academic partners across the EU and associated countries.

The closing date for the 2010 call for proposals is 26 January 2011 at 17:00 Brussels time.

National Contact Point Events

The UK National Contact Point (NCP) are holding a series of free events open to all during September which will give information on applying to the IAPP and ITN schemes.

These will be held in:
Belfast – 10 September 2010
Birmingham – 17 September 2010
Edinburgh – 20 September 2010
London – 28 September 2010
Further information and registration is available here.

Further information

Further information on both schemes is available from the UK NCP website here. Queries can be directed to the
NCP helpdesk by e-mail at mariecurie-uk@bbsrc.ac.uk or by telephone on +32 2 230 5275.

The sky�s the limit for air traffic management systems

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The European Asas-tn2 project focused on the latest generation of air traffic management systems supported by advanced airborne system applications.

The 'Airborne separation assistance systems thematic network II' (Asas-tn2) project was established under the auspices of the European Commission's Sixth Framework programme.

More here.

UK FP7 ICT News

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Our national Contact Point for FP7 ICT, Peter Walters provided us with a very helpful summary of forthcoming issues.

The Commission’s new ICT Workprogramme 2011-2012 can be downloaded here and Peter has kindly prepared a simple overview of ICT and the new WP which is here.

There are 2 key events in the UK at which you can hear Commission speakers and be able to discuss ideas with them, other speakers and colleagues.

These events organised in collaboration with KTNs and others, will address three of the objectives included in ICT Call 7 – foreseen to launch on 28 September.

They are :
"Computing Systems – The Future" being held in Cardiff on Tuesday 7th September 2010 . This event will address objectives: 3.4, Computing Systems and 9.13, Exa-scale computing, software and simulation. There will be Commission Speakers, Business expertise, Research Challenges. Further Details here.

"Flexible, Organic and Large Area Electronics and Photonics" in Sedgefield on Thursday 9th September 2010. This event will address objective 3.6, Flexible, Organic and Large Area Electronics and Photonics. You will have the opportunity to pitch your skills and talk of ideas - Further details here.

ICT News is available via https://ktn.innovateuk.org/web/fp7-ict/news or the NEWS tab on the new FP7UK ICT home page: https://ktn.innovateuk.org/web/fp7-ict
Email FP7 Support fp7uk@innovateuk.org
You can contact Peter Walters pwalters@tuvnel.com

And the FP7support line is 0300 321 4357

Smarter than your average transportation system

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Human error is involved in 95 % of road accidents. This means that intelligent transportation systems could help make Europe's roads safer. An EU-funded project has sought to pool Europe's fragmented research capacity in this crucial field.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) can play an important role in improving road and transport safety, as demonstrated by the EU's eSafety initiative which seeks to roll out smart road safety and environmentally friendly eco-driving technologies.

More here.

Entries and nominations now being accepted for the 2010 Nexxus Life Science Awards

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Who do you think most deserves an award for their contributions to Scottish life sciences?

The Annual Nexxus Life Science Awards aim to celebrate local talent in the West and East of Scotland.

Two separate competitions encourage entries and nominations for the categories of Lifetime Achievement, Innovation, Most Promising Young Life Science Company of the Year, Young Life Scientist of the Year and (in the East only, sponsored by the Edinburgh Science Triangle) Collaboration.

More here.

Funding Opportunities in the ICT Sector

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

For companies and other organisations working within the ICT and related sectors, there are a number of exciting funding opportunities open over the next few months which may be of interest.

For an overview of what is available, please visit here:

http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/cf/news.cfm?item_type=fo

And for any further information on any aspect of this funding area or any other enquiry related to doing business in europe, do not hesitate to contact the team at info@enterprise-europe-scotland.com.

Whisky 'petrol' for cars developed by university

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The biofuel made from whisky by-products could be available on petrol forecourts Edinburgh Napier University has developed a new biofuel made from whisky by-products.

It is the result of two years work by the universities biofuel research centre.

The £260,000 project was funded by Scottish Enterprise's Proof of Concept programme.

It has been welcomed by WWF Scotland's director Dr Richard Dixon who said it would help a "clean environment" industry to reduce transport emissions.

As part of the research, the centre was provided with samples of whisky distilling by-products from Diageo's Glenkinchie Distillery in Edinburgh.

More here,

Briefing - Consultation on Atlantic policy

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The European Commission’s DG for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries has launched a consultation ahead of its forthcoming communication on Integrated Maritime Policy for the Atlantic Ocean sea basin.

The Council has called on the Commission to develop strategic approaches for further regional sea basins (initiatives for the Arctic, the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean have already been launched) and the where there is a value added for the EU to take action.

This consultation is therefore an opportunity to ask ‘Atlantic stakeholders’ if such an approach, which would include environmental protection as well as economic activities, is appropriate.

The Commission has prepared a brief ‘non-paper’ accompanying the consultation, where it lists the main challenges for the Atlantic as:

the need to define the geographical scope of the Atlantic;
the opportunities for clustering and economies of scale;
Good Environmental Status is only achievable if Member States and regions cooperate, and there is an urgent need for more cooperation in case of major environmental disasters;
the human dimension to the Atlantic;
the difference in maritime governance between Member States and regions; and
the international dimension to the Atlantic Ocean.

The consultation runs until 15 October 2010. At this stage, the Commission is not looking for lengthy written responses, but rather opinions to a set number of questions. The survey is also anonymous. It is worth to note that at a recent meeting between Scotland Europa and DG MARE, the Commission representatives expressed its interest in Scotland playing a key role in the development of this Atlantic strategy.

Relevant reading : Consultation page, background paper and questionnaire

The information above was provided by Scotland Europa, Scotland House Rond-Point Schuman 6, B-1040 Brussels, Belgium. T +32 (0)2 282 8303 F +32 (0)2 282 8318, www.scotlandeuropa.com

Scottish Health Innovations Limited Publishes Annual Report

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Scottish Health Innovations Ltd (SHIL) is delighted to announce the publication of the Annual Report 2010. It has been a busy year for the company with many exciting developments and new products launched.

The theme for this year's report is "Celebrating 1000 Bright Ideas" as the company announced that the 1000th idea was brought to SHIL in March 2010.

More here.

Sheep immunity study offers hope of savings for farmers

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Scientists are a step closer to combating a stomach worm infection in sheep that costs UK farmers £80 million every year.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh and the Moredun Research Institute have discovered a molecule that may help the worm beat the sheep's natural defences.

More here.

Environment Policy Review published

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The European Commission has published its annual Environment Policy Review for 2009, which looks at EU policy developments and outlooks, environmental data and trends and performance and policy developments in the Member States.

Environment Commissioner Janez Poto�nik said about the review: “It gives interesting examples of how environmental objectives can be integrated into other policy areas. Nevertheless, […] I see a clear need to sustain the momentum for promoting green growth and for further EU and national policy measures to make Europe more resource efficient.”

The review looks at developments under the four priority areas of the 6th Environment Action Programme:

Climate change
The review mentions the adoption of the Climate and Energy package as a success, and that the non-successful UN Conference in Copenhagen did result in an agreement on limiting global warming to 2°C is seen as “a move in the right direction”.

Nature and biodiversity
The global and EU biodiversity picture shows worrying trends, although the TEEB report is seen to have shown that investing in protecting ecosystems makes economic sense. The Commission therefore calls for more measures at international level, such as the setting up of the IPBES. At EU level, the completion of the Natura 2000 network on land and sea must be speeded up.

Environment and health
The Commission mentions the implementation of REACH and the Water Framework Directive, the agreement on the Industrial Emissions Directive and the Pesticide Framework Directive and the proposal for a Biocides Regulation as actions taken in this field during 2009.

Natural resources and waste
Among the measures taken to promote sustainable consumption and production and better waste management, the review mentions the launch of the Retail Forum, which aims to exchange ideas on practical sustainability measures in the retail sector. In 2009, reports also showed that EU waste laws are poorly implemented and enforced in many Member States. 2011 might therefore see a proposal to set up an EU Waste Implementation Agency.

Overall, the review notes that Member States included a number of green initiatives in their economic recovery plans, as a move towards a low-carbon and resource-efficient economy. The Europe 2020 strategy is mentioned, as it endorses the shift to a resource efficient Europe. The Commission also includes work done on developing tools to measure resource efficiency, such as the Beyond GDP initiative.
Regarding the outlook for the future, DG Environment mentions the forthcoming Review of the Financial Perspective as an opportunity to improve the integration of environmental concerns into various EU policy areas.

European Commission – Annual Environment Policy Review

This briefing was provided by Scotland Europa.

Scotland Europa, Scotland House Rond-Point Schuman 6, B-1040 Brussels, Belgium
T +32 (0)2 282 8303 F +32 (0)2 282 8318, www.scotlandeuropa.com

New sensor unit protects a ship's lifeblood

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

EU-funded scientists have developed a computerised warning sensor that monitors a ship's all-important lubricated systems.

A black box attached to the ship's engine together with the unit's oil-monitoring software work together to warn a crew if the lifeblood of their vessel is under threat. The sensor can even provide solutions to get the ship back on track.

The unit is the successful culmination of the POSSEIDON ('Progressive oil sensor system for extended identification on-line') project, which was funded EUR 1.2 million under the 'Sustainable development, global change and ecosystems' Thematic area of the EU's Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).

More here.

New tools needed to relieve malaria burden in Africa, study finds

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Researchers in the UK have demonstrated that the tools currently available for combating malaria could dramatically reduce the burden of malignant malaria on parts of Africa if a comprehensive, sustained intervention programme were in place.

The findings, published in the Public Library of Science (PLoS) Medicine journal, are an outcome of the TRANSMALARIABLOC ('Blocking malaria transmission by vaccines, drugs and immune mosquitoes: efficacy assessment and targets') project, financed with EUR 3 million under the Health Theme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

More here.

Waste powers autonomous robots

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

As the saying goes, one person's garbage is another person's treasure. In this instance, the garbage in question is used by a robot to harness energy for its own operation.

For the last few years, the team of EU-funded scientists behind the EcoBot series (I, II, III) of robots has generated energy by feeding the machine food waste and raw materials.

They have now set their sights on converting energy from urine for the same outcome. The EcoBot-III project received EUR 320,000 in funding under the EU's Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).

More here.

Linking up researchers in the socio-economic sciences and humanities

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

International cooperation in the field of socio-economic sciences and humanities (SSH) has been improving over recent years, thanks largely to the efforts of a European project which is facilitating their participation in the EU's research framework programmes. The NET4SOCIETY ('Trans-national co-operation among National Contact Points for socio-economic sciences and the humanities') project is setting up new structures for the exchange of experiences and ideas. It is funded under the SSH Theme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) to the tune of EUR 2.6 million.

More here.

Polaroid expands workforce as it targets 3D opportunities

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The Polaroid plant at Dumbarton, which fought off closure plans in the opening years of the new millennium, is ramping up its manufacturing workforce as it targets huge opportunities in the 3D cinema and television markets.

More here

Researchers in quest to find coolest forms of life on Earth

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A two-woman research team is braving chilly temperatures to fuel our understanding of how life could exist on other planets in the Solar System.

Their work is part of the EUROPLANET RI (European planetology network research infrastructure) project, funded under the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) to the tune of EUR 6 million.

EUROPLANET RI is seeking to foster a culture of community through a range of networking activities for greater cooperation in the field of planetary sciences.

More here.

European funding for outsourcing of R&D announced

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Small businesses can benefit from the provision of €110m of European funding to help complement their core research capability via the European Commission’s ‘Research for SME’s programme’.

This scheme provides financial support to SMEs to outsource research and technological development to 'RTD performers', such as universities and allow the SMEs to increase their research efforts, extend their networks, and acquire technological know how.

The SME participants receive the technological know-how from the RTD performer to allow them to develop, or improve, new or existing products, systems, processes or services. The scheme employs a ‘bottom-up approach’, meaning projects may address any research topic. The latest call for proposals opened in July and has a deadline of the 8th of December. The call documentation can be downloaded here.

Project Rules: Research for SMEs projects require participants at least three independent SMEs, established in three different Member States or associated countries and at least two RTD performers which must be independent from any other participant and which can come from any country.

Typical ‘Research for SME’ project are between 5 and 10 participants, with project budgets typically between €0.5 million to € 1.5 million and between 1 and 2 years long.

For more details on the scheme please download the "Research for SMEs at a glance" document or contact Enterprise Europe Scotland on 0845 607 8787 or email fp7@scotent.co.uk.

A full day event outlining how to form a consortium and write a proposal will be held on the 1st September at the Scottish Enterprise offices in Edinburgh. More details and online registration can be found here.

FP7 Interim Evaluation � Consultation Response

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7) has just passed the half-way point of its seven year term (2007-2013), and therefore the European Commission has begun the Interim Evaluation of the functioning and achievements of FP7.

The FP7 Interim Evaluation represents an important stage in the Framework Programme. It will provide an opportunity to examine progress and to provide recommendations for future implementation of FP7, but also very importantly it will help to shape ideas for the next Framework Programme.

As part of the Interim Evaluation, the Commission has launched a public consultation, which aims to gather a full range of views from individuals and institutions involved as users and stakeholders in the implementation of FP7.

Consultation on the Seventh Framework Programme here.

Proteins essential to iron supply machinery

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Iron is essential for survival but excessive amounts can be harmful and even lead to organ failure, new EU-funded research from Germany shows. Scientists from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg have discovered that iron regulatory proteins (IRPs) are necessary for cell survival because they ensure that the right balance of iron is maintained. In particular, IRPs are instrumental in making mitochondria, the energy engine room of a cell, work properly. Results from the study are published in Cell Metabolism.

EU support for the work came from the EUROIRON1 ('Genetic control of the pathogenesis of diseases based on iron accumulation') project, which received EUR 2.8 million under the Life sciences, genomics and biotechnology for health Thematic area of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).

More here.

New biodegradable compound facilitates bone regeneration in cases of substantial loss.

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Bones have a capacity to regenerate themselves after suffering partial damage. However, it is really quite another thing when a serious break or tumour lesion occurs and the loss of tissue is substantial. Today these cases are treated with various kinds of grafts, but they have a number of disadvantages, such as rejection, contamination or limitations on donors.

The current focus in bone tissue engineering is developing materials that temporarily substitute for the bone while inducing its regeneration in such a way that this, temporary material, disappears as the bone recovers its space. This project has developed a new porous, biodegradable nanocompound support for the regeneration of bone tissue.

More here.

Mix and match your own movie

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A novel set of tools developed by a team of EU-funded researchers has given artists and media professionals the means to create a quality audio-visual animation at a fraction of the time and cost.

The tools allow a user to choose their character's facial expressions, physical attributes, and even the pitch of their voice.

The 'intelligent content' technology was developed under the SALERO ('Semantic audio-visual entertainment reusable objects') project, which was funded EUR 8.85 million through the EU's 'Information society technologies' Theme of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).

More here.

Fri, 6 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

EU-funded researchers have taken science out of the lab and onto the streets to stimulate greater engagement in city living. The IPCITY ('Integrated project on interaction and presence in urban environments') project partners assembled a range of technologies in real-life settings to allow people to discover new aspects of their city and to voice their opinion on future developments. IPCITY was funded EUR 5.27 million under the 'Information society technologies' Thematic area of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).

More here.

Scientists find 95 genetic variants associated with heart disease risk factor

Fri, 6 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

An international team of scientists has identified 95 genetic variants associated with high blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels which are major risk factors for coronary heart disease.

EU support for the work came from several projects. The Health Theme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), the 'Life sciences, genomics and biotechnology for health' Thematic area of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) and the 'Quality of life and management of the living resources' programme of the EU's Fifth Framework Programme (FP5).

More here.

Scientists deliver new CO2 emissions model

Thu, 5 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

An EU-funded team of scientists has developed a new model that can determine the levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reductions needed in order to decelerate, and potentially put an end to, global warming. Their objective was to simulate future changes in the climate and CO2 emissions in a single scenario in which the CO2 equivalent concentrations in the atmosphere are stabilised in the long term at 450 parts per million (ppm). This would limit global warming to a maximum of 2°C above the pre-industrial level. The model was presented in the journal Climate Change.

Their work is an outcome of the ENSEMBLES ('Ensemble-based predictions of climate changes and their impacts') project, which received EUR 15 million under the 'Sustainable development, global change and ecosystems') Thematic area of the EU's Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) to develop a common ensemble forecast system for use across a range of timescales (e.g. seasonal, decadal) and spatial scales (e.g. global, regional).

More here.

Flexible Training Opportunities - Apply ASAP - First come, first served

Thu, 5 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) announces the availability of funds to help Scottish businesses invest in learning and development opportunities for their employees.

SDS is currently offering an opportunity for businesses of fewer than 50 employees to win flexible funding of up to £5k per business towards training opportunities.

Funding is 50% match funding up to £500 per individual with a maximum of 10 individuals per company. This funding is first come first served. If interested, see link below or call the SDS helpline free on 0800 783 6000.

More here.

Study finds alarming breaches in criminal defence in Europe

Thu, 5 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A major EU-funded study into existing criminal defence practices has uncovered significant rights violations in nine European jurisdictions. The three-year project 'Effective defence rights in the EU and access to justice: investigating and promoting best practice' was funded by the Criminal Justice Programme in 2007. Results of the analysis and subsequent conclusions have been collated in the publication, Effective Criminal Defence in Europe.

More here.

Oil Spills: A Deep Water Solution

Wed, 4 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The current oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico shows again how dangerous oil exploitation and oil transport can be: no reliable system exists to capture the oil at its source before it reaches the surface. But scientists recently came up with a remarkable solution which is easy to apply and effective - no matter if the oil spill origins from an open well or a sunken tanker.

More here.

Tue, 3 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The ITEA D-MINT project has turned the academic discipline of model-based testing into an industrial reality to cut the cost of producing complex software-based systems. Demonstrators in a wide range of industrial domains from street lighting and process control to mobile communications and automotive electronic control units clearly show how such an approach allows the cost-effective development of high quality software. The resulting techniques are already being exploited in their product development by several major European companies.

More here.

On the road to more sophisticated driving

Tue, 3 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A methodology for evaluating human-machine interface technologies for road vehicles is leading the way to make the driving experience safer and more enhanced.

More here.

Scientists gain access to top European supercomputer

Mon, 2 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

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.

Scientists in varied disciplines require access to supercomputers to solve some of the most pressing issues facing society today. PRACE is meeting this challenge head on by establishing a high performance computing (HPC) research infrastructure in Europe. Its work is supported by the Research Infrastructures budget lines of the EU's Sixth and Seventh Framework Programmes (FP6 and FP7), and it has been identified as a priority infrastructure for Europe by ESFRI, the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures.

More here.

Commission find 1.4 billion euros for ITER nuclear fusion research project

Mon, 2 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

With EU governments unwilling to fill the funding gaps in the multi-billion international nuclear fusion research project ITER, the European Commission is proposing to put an extra 1.4 billion euro on the table to honour the bloc's international commitment.

Ensuring European financing for the project in 2012-2013, the Commission suggests finding €1.4 billion of unused funding from the EU budget (€940 million) and by redeployment of €460 million from the EU's 7th Framework Programme for Research (FP7).

Click here for full press release . . .

European Legislation Alerts

Mon, 2 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Commission Regulation 641/2010

Laying down specific measures for agriculture in the outermost regions of the Union

Enters Into Force - 24.07.2010

Commission Regulation 605/2010

Animal, public health and veterinary certification conditions for the introduction into the European Union of raw milk and dairy products intended for human consumption

Enters Into Force - 30.07.2010

European Legislation Alerts

Mon, 2 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Council Regulation 640/2010

Catch documentation programme for bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus

Enters Into Force -06.08.2010

European Legislation Alerts

Mon, 2 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Council Directive 2010/41

Application of the principle of equal treatment between men and women engaged in an activity in a self-employed capacity

Enters Into Force - 04.08.2010

Council Directive 2010/45

Rules on invoicing for common VAT system

Enters Into Force - 11.08.2010

European Legislation Alerts

Mon, 2 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Commission Regulation 672/2010

Concerning type-approval requirements for windscreen defrosting and demisting systems of certain motor vehicles and implementing Regulation (EC) No 661/2009

Enters Into Force - 17.08.2010

Merging e-services seamlessly

Mon, 2 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Information technology (IT) experts and computer scientists from Europe and Israel have begun work on a project that seeks to resolve the significant business stumbling block of interoperation between e-services (electronic services).

The ACSI ('Artifact-centric service interoperation') consortium's two-pronged solution will examine the viability of interoperation hubs and dynamic artefacts as ways to improve the process whereby e-services are merged into one dynamic system.

The project has been funded EUR 3.24 million by the 'Information and Communication Technologies' (ICT) Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

More here.

Europe leads race for China clean tech market

Mon, 2 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

In an interview with the EurActive.com website; China's expert at the World Resources Institute (WRI) Xiaomei Tan believes European companies have a stronger foothold in China's growing clean technology market than their American counterparts

"Based on our research, European companies definitely benefit from China's green technology market more than US companies," Tan said in an interview with EurActiv.

"US companies realise this and they now try to catch up."

European companies' stronghold on the Chinese market is evident in wind energy technology, for instance, according to Tan. "Many Chinese wind turbine producers don't own key technologies – they all buy production licences from European companies," she said.

Full interview...

FP7 Security information events

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

There are some key events coming up in September for those interested and egenaged in the FP7 Security theme.

These events will be attended by European Commission officials so you can find out direct "from the horse's mouth" what they are looking for in proposals in Call 4. They will also be attended by people from all across the EU looking for partners to join their consortia.

The events are as follows:

European Commission Information Day, Brussels, 9th September. The event itself is free of charge to attend, but you need to register your attendance by 1st September . More here.

European Security Research Conference 2010, Ostend, 22nd-24th September. Major 3 day security conference hosted by Belgian Government. As well as having high profile speakers from the security industry and the European Commission, there are numerous partner brokerage sessions, based on each of the 7 main missions in FP7 Security theme.
If booking between 22nd July - 10th September, the cost to attend is €175 per person.(after that is rises to €225 per person. Obviously travel and accommodation costs are in addition. More here.

Both events are excellent networking opportunities to meet a lot of like minded people from the security sector acoss Europe (and beyond) who are active in FP7.

FP7UK National Contact Point and the Home Office are also planning to hold an Information Session in London on the afternoon of 14th September.

Details of the event are still to be confirmed, but they have invited a speaker on FP7 Security from the European Commission to attend. (Unlike the two events above this will be a UK only event). More details will follow in the next few weeks.

The FP7UK national contact point is Derek Gallagher. You can contact Derek on 0785 255 6502 and by email frederick.gallaher@virginmedia.com

New Partnering Platform for FP7 Security Theme

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Partnering Platform is a service that supports applicants in finding suitable partners in the area of SECURITY RESEARCH.

Applicants can offer their unique expertise (if they intend to join an existing consortium) or publish a project proposal (if they intend to set up a consortium). The platform is tailored to the calls of the European Security Research Programme and thus allows topic specific searches.
The service is free of charge, transparent and equally open to everyone regardless of the country of origin.

It is maintained by the German NCP for security research.

Access the platform here.

European Parliament � Halt biodiversity loss by 2020

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The European Parliament’s Environment Committee has backed the post-2020 headline target of halting biodiversity loss and the degradation of ecosystems services and restoring them where feasible.

This goal was endorsed by the European Council in March. The Committee also said that business should contribute more towards reaching the 2020 target. It also tabled a statement that the subsidiarity principle should apply to soil protection, indicating that Member States should keep the exclusive competence in this field.

More here.

Green Public Procurement (GPP)

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The European Commission has adopted new common GPP criteria for 8 product groups: thermal insulation, combined heat & power, hard floor coverings, windows, wall panels, street lighting & traffic signals, road construction & road signs, and mobile phones.

More here.

Protein pill that can stop a heart attack

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The world’s first human trials towards a drug specifically designed to interrupt cardiac arrest and heal damaged tissue at the same time are due to begin in Scotland next year.

Work by Edinburgh University researchers could vastly increase a victim’s chances of survival after seizure caused by heart disease, one of Scotland’s biggest killers.

The most advanced clinical tests of their kind will involve 80 people testing the formula for the protein that seeks out and destroys enzymes responsible for catastrophic injury to organs and tissue after major trauma or infection. Elafin, the protein that helps the skin and lungs heal, is developed by the body to protect the organs most often attacked by outside infection.

Its healing and anti-microbial qualities have made its production as a drug a Holy Grail for scientists across the world, and it is being tested for uses including fighting biological warfare agents – such as anthrax and the plague – helping asthma and improving survival rates after liver transplants.

There is now enough lab evidence to warrant a recommendation of a Medical Research Council (MRC) grant of £500,000 for the first stage of the trials towards a pill using an elafin compound in hospital – at the cardiac unit in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary – to see if it can also work on the heart.

The goal is to prove the elafin drug can neutralise the enzymes that damage the heart during cardiac arrest and then make repairs.

The Edinburgh research on creating an elafin-based product, which has been described as a “terminator” drug, could have a significant impact on the 10,000 annual coronary deaths in Scotland.

The pioneering step of lead investigator Dr Peter Henriksen will involve studying elafin’s effects on a person’s heart for the first time. It will be done when they are in a controlled, simulated state similar to a heart attack – during by-pass surgery.

Success in the joint university and NHS Lothian study could lead to a heart attack pill in just five years.

Cardiac specialist Henriksen said: “It is a beautiful protein. Elafin has a neutralising effect and a very destructive effect on enzymes, which break down other proteins and are central to the initial inflammatory response in many diseases.

“It seems not only to be able to neutralise the effects but it has an effect of directly removing or killing off bacteria.

“What I want to do as a cardiologist is bolster the concentrations of elafin in an organ which doesn’t produce elafin naturally, and that is the heart.

“There is a huge amount of pre-clinical data suggesting that elafin is effective in reducing the size of heart attacks and then reducing problems in the arterial wall, which may occur during treatment for arterial disease.

“During bypass surgery the heart is paused or stopped purposely so that the surgeon can conduct the surgery and during that period blood flow is interrupted to the heart muscle. So what we have here is something that is a controlled and safer version of what happens during a heart attack.

“If we can have proof of principle here that there is an effect, that would pave the way to further studies.”

The university has signed an agreement to develop the drug with a US company called Proteo Biotech – which owns world rights to producing elafin compounds for humans.

Henrikson is due to receive ratification from the MRC after ethical and regulatory approval. A spokesman for the MRC said it would not comment ahead of that decision, due in September.

Fears over calcium tablets

PEOPLE taking calcium supplements have about a 30% higher risk of heart attack, research out today suggests.

A review of existing studies on some 12,000 people found an increased risk for those on supplements, which are often prescribed to older women for the treatment of osteoporosis.

People taking supplements equal to 500mg or more per day were analysed through 11 studies, which compared them with people not on supplements.

According to the Food Standards Agency, adults need 700mg of calcium a day, which should come from dietary sources including milk, cheese and green, leafy vegetables.

Today’s study, from experts at the University of Auckland and the University of Aberdeen, says diets high in calcium do not increase the risk of heart attacks.

Experts believe higher blood serum levels lead to hardening of the arteries, which can cause heart attacks.

The authors said: “Serum calcium levels have been positively associated with an increased incidence of (heart attack) in large observational studies.”

Full story available here

Hip hope from stem cell technique

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Writing in the The Lancet, US researchers say they have regrown the forelimb thigh joint of rabbits using their own stem cells.

It was the first time an entire joint surface had been regenerated with the return of functions, they said.

The research could benefit patients with damaged hips, shoulders or knees.

The team removed the limbs from 10 rabbits and replaced them with an artificial limb-shaped skeleton.

This was soaked with chemicals which attract bone and cartilage stem cells.

Four weeks later the rabbits had regrown their joints and were able to move normally.

"This is the first time an entire joint surface was regenerated with return of functions including weight bearing and locomotion," said Professor Jeremy Mao of Columbia University Medical Center, New York.

"Regeneration of cartilage and bone both from the host's own stem cells, rather than taking stem cells out of the body, may ultimately lead to clinical applications. In patients who need the knee, shoulder, hip or finger joints regenerated, the rabbit model provides a proof of principle," he said.

Researchers have artificially grown a range of tissue on scaffolding using stem cells for many years, but these have been grown in laboratories. The lab grown tissue has been quite small and has had no veins or arteries to supply them with blood.

More recently, however, several groups of researchers have successfully grown tissue inside animals, where blood vessels naturally form as the tissue grows.

The US group is the latest to have shown that this is a promising technique - and is the first to have grown a large amount of good quality bone and cartilage into successful working joints.

According to Professor Patrick Warnke, a stem cell researcher and plastic surgeon at Bond University in Australia, there is technically no reason why trials should not begin on human patients, for example as an alternative to hip replacements.

But he said there were ethical issues to be considered before beginning clinical trials.

"A hip replacement would definitely cure any potential recruit to any clinical trial. On the other hand you have an experimental treatment that may turn out to be a better option - but may not work at all," he said.

If human trials were to be approved they would not be suitable for very old patients, according to Professor Warnke.

"It would take months of movement, physiotherapy and bed rest for the joint to grow which would be much too long for older people. They would be better off with a normal hip replacement when they can walk out of the hospital after the procedure."

Professor Molly Stevens of Imperial College London said: "Growing large areas of tissue is a massively important clinical goal.

"This is the latest study to have shown that there are stem cells in the body that can be harnessed to grow bone and tissue if they are given the right sort of signals."

For the full story please visit here

Cardiac death risk increases with common ECG pattern

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

EU-funded researchers in Germany have discovered that unexpectedly high numbers of people in the 35 to 54 age group show an early repolarisation pattern (ERP) on their electrocardiogram (ECG).

Furthermore, people with ERP, especially men, appear to be at a higher risk of cardiac death.

ECGs pick up the tiny electrical waves generated by the beating heart via electrodes on the skin and so provide information about the health of a heart. ERP is a type of wave pattern that is often seen on ECGs, and previous studies have suggested that it may be associated with a raised risk of cardiac death.

This project investigation to determine the prevalence of ERP and its relationship with cardiac death.

More here.

Rewarding research excellence

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Two young scientists have received the first ever Excellent Paper in Neuroscience Award, an initiative of the ERA-NET NEURON project (Network for European Funding for Neuroscience Research).

NEURON received EUR 2.7 million under the ERA-NET scheme of the EU's Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) to better coordinate national research funding programmes and funding activities in Europe in the field of disease-related neurosciences.

More here.

The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The second of the TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems & Biodiversity) reports – TEEB for Business – has been launched at the Global Business of Biodiversity Symposium in London.

The report, which has been funded by the European Commission, intends to show how businesses that integrate biodiversity into their business plans and core activities can create a win-win situation.

The report finds that most companies still only address biodiversity superficially in their reports, but that growing numbers are aware of the potential benefits. It says that biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES offer opportunities for all sectors, and they can bring added value by ensuring the sustainability of supply chains, generating new products, penetrating new markets and attracting new customers.

The TEEB for Business report makes 7 recommendations for businesses:

Identify the impacts and dependencies of your business on BES;
Assess the business risks and opportunities associated with these impacts and dependencies;
Develop BES information systems, set SMART targets, measure and value performance, and report your results;
Take action to avoid, minimize and mitigate BES risks, including in-kind compensation (‘offsets’) where appropriate;
Grasp emerging BES business opportunities, such as cost-efficiencies, new products and new markets;
Integrate business strategy and actions on BES with wider corporate social responsibility initiatives; and
Engage with business peers and stakeholders in government, NGOs and civil society to improve BES guidance and policy.

The report also calls on accountants and financial reporting bodies to develop common standards to assess biodiversity impacts, and develop new tools for this purpose.

TEEB for Business will form part of the final TEEB synthesis report, which will be launched at the meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya in October.

A TEEB for policymakers has been published, and a TEEB for local and regional policy and one for citizens will also be published.

This briefing was provided by Scotland Europa.

Scotland Europa, Scotland House Rond-Point Schuman 6, B-1040 Brussels, Belgium
T +32 (0)2 282 8303 F +32 (0)2 282 8318, www.scotlandeuropa.com

Scottish ICT industry strategy launched

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The Information and Communications Technologies Industry Advisory Group, representing a cross section of Scotland’s ICT industry, announced the publication of its new ICT Industry Strategy and Implementation Plan to accelerate the growth of the sector.

More here.

Edinburgh Festivals to go global with digital boost

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Festivals Edinburgh, the strategic umbrella organisation that represents and works on behalf of Edinburgh’s twelve major festivals, has been awarded £300,000 from Creative Scotland’s National Lottery Fund to set up the Edinburgh Festivals Innovation Lab, a two year initiative to lead the digital development of Edinburgh’s Festivals.

More here.

'Emergency fund' to fast-track cancer drugs

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

It will mean that from October, rather than next year, doctors in England can offer drugs which have not been approved by the rationing body NICE.

The announcement was made at the launch of a study showing that the UK lags in providing the newest cancer drugs.

The fund will be financed by ditching the former government's plan for free personal care for the old.

It means that cancer patients will be able to access new drugs earlier to help extend life by weeks or months or improve quality of life in the final stages of the disease.

The government's cancer tsar Professor Sir Mike Richards, who led the research into the UK's ranking on drug provision, stressed however it would not improve overall survival rates.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: "I promised that I would help patients in England get cancer drugs that are readily available in the rest of Europe.

"It's a scandal that we are strong in cancer research and participation in clinical trials in the UK, yet NHS patients aren't always seeing the benefits from the research swiftly enough.

"Patients should have access to innovative cancer drugs that can extend or improve their quality of life and which their doctors have recommended, which is why I'm determined to take action now."

The report into the international variations in drug use compared treatment for a series of diseases, including cancer, heart disease, dementia and arthritis.

While the UK scored highly when it came to providing drugs such as statins and treatments for acute myocardial infarction, it was ranked relatively low on giving out drugs for dementia, multiple sclerosis and cancer drugs launched within the last five years, and performed around average on older cancer drugs.

Many of the drugs for non-cancer conditions had been approved by the drugs rationing body NICE, said Professor Richards, and there was no reason why clinicians should not be prescribing these when appropriate.

But some of the newer cancer drugs had not been approved by the body, and it is access to these that the initial £50m fund should provide access to.

The UK was rated 12 out of 14 developed countries - which included much of Western Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand - when it came to the cancer drugs which had come on the market within the last five years.

But crucially the study did stress there was no necessary correlation between drugs expenditure and survival. Denmark for instance rates relatively high on access to cancer drugs, but is fares poorly against the European average when it comes to survival rates.

"I honestly do not think that drug usage is linked to survival," said Professor Richards.

"Early diagnosis remains the most important factor."

The £50m fund will be accessible from October, ahead of a further cancer drugs fund to be launched in April 2011. It was initially thought this fund would be to around the £200m mark, but ministers said that the economic climate meant this could no longer be guaranteed.

It is unclear exactly how decisions will be made as to which patients are given drugs previously denied, but it is hoped specialists will form regional teams to consider both individual and group cases.

Ministers insisted the plan was not intended to undermine NICE, which carefully weighs up the costs and benefits of drugs.

Sir Andrew Dillon, the chief executive of the body, said there "will always be exceptions to our recommendations which are justified on clinical grounds.

"A national fund to meet the cost of these exceptional cases, administered in a consistent way complements NICE guidance and we are happy to work with the new arrangements announced today."

Hilary Tovey, policy manager at Cancer Research UK, said: "Anything that helps patients get drugs faster is welcome. We know that the UK has a low uptake of new drugs compared to other countries, and hope that this new fund will help address this.

"We look forward to seeing more detail about how the fund will work in practice and we will be monitoring its impact. We want to ensure that all cancer patients are getting the treatments which might benefit them."

Steve Williamson, a cancer pharmacist from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society said: "It is worth remembering that those medicines that have not been funded are life extending medicines and not curative.

"In the past the NHS has had to make tough choices, and has not been able to fund treatments that for the average patient can extend life by 3 months or less. This can cause great distress for cancer patients as there is always a chance that for an individual patient the drug will work particularly well."

For the full story please click here

National Renewables Infrastructure Plan - Stage 2 published

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The plan outlines the investment required to deliver Scotland's ambition to become a premier location for the manufacturing and deployment of wind turbine and marine energy devices.

More here.

Call for proposals for the implementation of Erasmus Mundus 2009-2013 Action 2 - Partnerships

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The European Commission has issued call for proposals for the implementation of Erasmus Mundus 2009-2013 Action 2 - Partnerships.

The Erasmus Mundus programme's overall aim is to promote European higher education, to help improve and enhance the career prospects of students and to promote intercultural understanding through cooperation with third countries, in accordance with EU external policy objectives in order to contribute to the sustainable development of third countries in the field of higher education.

This call for proposals applies to the cooperation between European and third country higher education institutions from the South Mediterranean Region, the Central Asian Republics and the Western Balkans.

The programme's specific objectives are:

to promote structured cooperation between higher education institutions and an offer of enhanced quality in higher education with a distinct European added value, attractive both within the European Union and beyond its borders, with a view to creating centres of excellence,
to contribute to the mutual enrichment of societies by developing the qualifications of women/men so that they possess appropriate skills, particularly as regards the labour market, and are open-minded and internationally experienced through promoting mobility for the most talented students and academics from third countries to obtain qualifications and/or experience in the European Union and for the most talented European students and academics towards third countries,
to contribute towards the development of human resources and the international cooperation capacity of higher education institutions in third countries through increased mobility streams between the European Union and third countries,
to improve accessibility and enhance the profile and visibility of European higher education in the world as well as its attractiveness for third country nationals and citizens of the Union.

Contact person:For further information, please contact:
'Education, Audiovisual and Culture' Executive Agency
Call for proposals EACEA/22/10 - Action 2
Att. Mr Joachim Fronia
BOUR 02/29
Avenue du Bourget 1
1040 Brussels
Belgium

To see the full details of the call, please consult:
OJ No C200 of 22 July 2010

Earth systems scientists highlight biogeochemical feedbacks

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The impacts of biogeochemical feedbacks should not to be ignored in climate change studies, say EU-funded scientists. In order to understand how the Earth is likely to evolve in this century and beyond, the team believes greater emphasis must be placed on the feedbacks that exist between the terrestrial biosphere and the Earth's atmosphere. Results from the study, published in Nature Geoscience, suggest that biogeochemical feedbacks could be important in modulating future climate change.

The research was supported by the GREENCYCLES ('Biogeochemistry and climate change research and training network') project, which received EUR 2.84 million under the Marie Curie Actions - Human resources and mobility activity of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6). The four-year project, which ended in 2008, fostered new developments in the multidisciplinary field of biogeochemical cycles research including training for a new generation of Earth system scientists.

More here.

Plug-ins to cut back on energy waste

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Two percent of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are attributed to the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector. This figure represents 1 billion kilowatts of electricity required to keep 3 billion PCs and mobile devices and over 500 million host computers running!

The EU-funded team under FIT4Green ('Federated IT for a sustainable environmental impact') has set itself the ambitious goal of tackling this overconsumption. The project is funded with EUR 3.18 million under the ICT Theme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

More here.

Environmental skills

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The European Commission has published a study on environmental skills programmes in six different European countries: UK, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland. The comparative study, contracted to Dutch consultancy firm Ecorys, makes six general conclusions:

There is a high degree of variation among the national environmental skills programmes, mainly due to different social, economical and environmental conditions.
Programmes tend to be driven by employment demand, which is often a result of new environmental legislation requiring sectors to train their staff.
Firms are at the frontline of developing green skills, as they provide in-house training to staff. However, the training provided is relatively short-term, focuses on specific sub-tasks of a job profile and does not lead to official certifications.
There is an even mix of courses that cater for high-, medium- or low-skilled, with courses targeting all groups from trainees to the self-employed.
The most common method of financing environmental skills programmes is a mix of public-private as a lot of publicly funded skills programmes are run in partnership with companies. EU funding also plays a role, in particular in the UK where a significant proportion of European Social Fund (ESF) money is geared towards skills needed for the green economy. Some countries, however, make no use of ESF money for green skills.
Many environmental programmes do not have universal recognition of the qualifications. The study argues that accreditation schemes may help increase the mobility of ‘green-skilled’ workers, especially at a sectoral level. It mentions the eco-construction sector as an example where a better portability of qualifications could lead to a quicker build of sustainable and affordable housing.

Recommendations
Overall, the study finds that green skills provision is less mature than other skills provisions areas.

To this end it sees a potential to promote exchange of best practice between Member States as well as between businesses and other stakeholders involved in green workforce skills. For small enterprises and sole traders, the study recommends developing a “European green mentoring program” that will help them develop green skills.

The study also sees a need to create ‘green collar partnerships’ as a means of advancing the skills, knowledge and innovation required for a resource efficient economy. Such partnerships should link conventional and new industries, as it is equally important to create new green jobs as it is to ‘green’ the economy in general.

Creating closer links between educational institutions, governments and business is also seen as essential to ensure that learning outcomes provide individuals with the necessary skills for a green job market. To achieve this, there is a need to involve stakeholders in the design stage of a programme, to make sure that an education is demand-driven and targets a specific skills-gap.

Another suggestion is the certification of the workforce, by which Member States would develop national training and accreditation programmes and standardise training courses by defining the required skills. Renewable energy and energy efficiency are mentioned as sectors where such a skills scheme could be implemented.

On a European level, the study suggests that the ESF should have dedicated funding for green skills programmes, which would fit with the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy. The authors also propose looking into the feasibility of establishing European qualifications and standards for green skills. The study says it might be useful, since it would: increase the mutual trust among green training providers, improve the quality of training, improve the public image of the sector and improve the mobility of workers. It is probable that such European standards would only help for some types of work, but not all, however.

A further suggestion is to carry out a mapping of skills needs of various sectors and to model future skills demand. Such an analysis could also look at the level of educational attainment in each sector. The study mentions building & construction, transport, agriculture & food, energy and manufacturing as key sectors to focus on.

The study recognises the UK as a country that has analysed the needs of a green economy more than others and is politically active in attempting to link green jobs to long term economic growth and sustainable recovery. The case studies used for the UK are SAFED (Energy efficient driving skills for heavy goods vehicle drivers) and ESFD (Energy Skills Foundation Programme).

Programmes to promote environmental skills – Final Report

European Commission – Environment and Employment

European Commission – New Skills for New Jobs

The information above was provided by Scotland Europa

Scotland Europa, Scotland House Rond-Point Schuman 6, B-1040 Brussels, Belgium
T +32 (0)2 282 8303 F +32 (0)2 282 8318, www.scotlandeuropa.com

The Super Light Car

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Engineers and material scientists are putting the car on a diet. Their aim is to make the body lighter and thus save on fuel and C02 emissions.

In the EU project Super Light Car engineers from 38 European partners succeeded in building a C-class body with lighter materials.

More here.

Study on the use of oilseedrape and sunflower oils to produce fuel and feed for herds.

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The oil extracted from oleaginous plants can be used as a fuel for agricultural vehicles without any reduction in their performance – thus enabling farmers to have greater energy self-sufficiency. Besides this, a sub-product known as oilseedcake is extracted which is the optimum fodder for animal herds, given its significant protein and fatty acids content.

More here.

On the road to sustainable vehicles

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Global carmakers are increasing efforts to improve the sustainability of their vehicles by incorporating recycled materials to meet environmental regulations and consumer demands.

Car manufacturers have recognised the importance of improving the sustainability of their vehicles, both in terms of meeting environmental regulations and the demands of increasingly eco-conscious consumers.

To this end, many are increasing use of recycled materials in their cars.

More here.

Air safety from the ground up

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Making airport runways and taxiways safer is a key concern in major airports across Europe.

The EU-funded Airnet project has developed an operational system which will assist in the effective implementation of measures ensuring the maximum safety for airport ground operations.

More here.

Airships: preparing their comeback

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

In a time of jet aircrafts, rockets and satellites, it is the slow-moving airship that is gaining renewed interest for surveillance, remote sensing and communications applications.

The European Commission, with the USE HAAS project, took a serious look at high-altitude airships (HAAs) for a more affordable alternative to satellites.

More here.

EC provides �6.4 billion funding for Research and Development projects.

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Innovative Scottish companies received a boost by the announcement by The European Commission of its largest investment in R&D funding to date. On Tuesday a number of funding calls, worth 6.4 billion (£5.4 billion), were launched under the commission's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

The package, the biggest ever, covers a vast range of scientific disciplines, public policy areas and commercial sectors. This funding will advance scientific boundaries, increase European competitiveness and help solve societal challenges such as climate change, energy and food security, health and an ageing population. Around 16,000 participants from research organisations, universities and industry, including about 3,000 SMEs, will receive funding. Grants will be awarded through "calls for proposals" (invitations to bid) and evaluations over the next 14 months. Many calls will be formally published on 20th July. This package is an economic stimulus expected to create more than 165.000 jobs. It is also a long-term investment in a smarter, sustainable and more inclusive Europe. It is a key element within the EU's Europe 2020 Strategy and in particular the Innovation Union Flagship, which will be launched in autumn 2010.

More funding than ever before
There will be an opportunity to bid for funding from the EU's Seventh Framework Programme across a wide range of policy areas. For example, health gets over €600 million. There is a €1.2 billion boost to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) research, which will help deliver the Commission's commitment in the Digital Agenda for Europe to maintain the pace of yearly increases in ICT funding.
More than €1.3 billion are reserved for the best creative scientists selected by the European Research Council. Mobility grants for 7, 000 highly qualified researchers will be provided through "Marie Curie Actions", worth €772 million

€800 million for SMEs
Top priority is given to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME), the backbone of the European innovation system, representing 99% of all European businesses. SMEs, will receive close to €800 million and for the first time, there will be ring-fenced budgets in several areas. For example, in health, knowledge-based bio-economy, environment and nanotechnologies SME participation must reach 35 % of the total budget for a number of topics.

New products and services
Translating research into new technologies, products and services is at the heart of the package.

In health research alone, around €206 million – one-third of the overall budget for 2011 – will be spent on investigator-driven clinical trials to get new medicines on the market quicker.

In nanotechnologies (€270 million), the focus will be on research that could lead to patenting and commercialisation opportunities.

Around €600 million of ICT funding is earmarked for next generation network and service infrastructures, robotic systems, electronic and photonic components, and digital content technologies. More than €400 million will support research into how ICTs can address challenges such as a lower-carbon economy, an ageing society, and adaptable and sustainable factories. €90 million is also earmarked in 2011 for the Future internet Public Private Partnership to make key European infrastructures "smart".

New pilot open access for environment research results
Environment research projects will get about €205 million. The Commission is introducing this year steps to speed up sharing of environmental research results: beneficiaries of EU grants will commit to making freely available – after a certain embargo period - publications arising from their research.

Background
The budget for the Seventh Framework Programme calls for proposals in 2011 is €6.4 billion, up 12% in comparison to 2010 (€5.7 billion) and 30% in comparison to 2009 (€4.9 billion).

The Seventh Framework Programme is the largest single research programme in the world, with a budget of more than € 50.5 billion, excluding Euratom - for 2007-2013.

By adopting the Europe 2020 strategy, Europe’s political leaders have put research and innovation at the top of the European political agenda, making it the cornerstone of investment in sustainable growth and jobs.

The calls for proposals will feed in to Europe’s Innovation Union Flagship, which Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn will launch in autumn 2010. This initiative is central to the Europe 2020 Strategy, and aims to boost the whole innovation chain "from research to retail", by marrying world-class science with an innovation economy or "i-conomy". It will remove bottlenecks which hamper a single market in innovation and which prevent Europe competing as well as it should with the US and others.
It will also introduce "Innovation Partnerships" bringing together the main actors in key areas and aiming to strike the right balance between collaboration and competition.

Information sources:
Call page
The Commission's website on Research
http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm
The Commission's 'Innovation Union' Facebook page

The Enterprise Europe Network can assist by helping companies to identify opportunities, join consortiums and reach agreements with the Commission. Details of how the EEN can assist are here.

Anyone interested in FP7, or any European R&D funding opportunities, can email fp7@scotent.co.uk or call the Scottish Enterprise Innovation Advisory Service on 0845 607 8787.

The information above was provided by Scotland Europa. Scotland Europa, Scotland House Rond-Point Schuman 6, B-1040 Brussels, Belgium. T +32 (0)2 282 8303 F +32 (0)2 282 8318, www.scotlandeuropa.com

EU-funded technology helps rescue workers save lives

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Tragic crises, such as the recent earthquakes in Chile and Haiti, prove how crucial the coordination of relief work is for saving lives.

The EU-funded WORKPAD ('An adaptive peer-to-peer software infrastructure for supporting collaborative work of human operators in emergency and disaster scenarios') project rose to the challenge of giving relief work a boost by developing innovative software, models and services to enhance collaboration between disaster workers.

Rescue teams can communicate on the ground with handheld devices, enhancing the efficiency of complex relief operations. WORKPAD was supported with EUR 1.85 million under the 'Information society technologies' (IST) Thematic area of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).

More here.

Developing collaborative solutions to environmental challenges

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

European Technology Platforms play a key role in helping the Environmental Technologies Action Plan ensure eco-innovations make the transition from research to commercialisation.

Ensuring the right innovations emerge to meet environmental challenges is one of ETAP’s main priorities. To guarantee these technologies develop at the right pace, academia, industry and policymakers must take a concerted approach.

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The results of a special Eurobarometer survey on EU attitudes to science and technology, published in the second half of June, reveal that scientists are failing to promote their projects, leading to a declining sense of optimism about the positive influence of science in Europe.

Only 11% of the European public felt very well informed about new scientific discoveries and technological developments, while half the respondents felt they had been moderately informed. Prof. Marja Makarow, CEO of the European Science Foundation (ESF), criticised the European research community for being "lazy and self-contented" to provide this important service.

On the theme of the under-representation of women researchers, 75% of respondents thought their governments should support specific measures to increase the representation of women in the scientific professions, while 63% thought that if more women were to reach the top research positions, this would improve the way research is conducted. 66% of respondents also thought that governments were not doing enough to stimulate young people’s interest in research.

More here.

Eurada study on EC project beneficiaries

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

For a good number of years now, the EC has been supporting regions that consider different dimensions of innovation and research as factors of competitiveness.

In addition to ERDF funding, the EU finances pilot projects through several of its many instruments, including FP7, CIP and Interreg IV C.

EURADA, the European Association of Regional Development Agencies, has just carried out an analysis of the identity and location of the beneficiaries of such pilot projects which were selected on the basis of open calls for proposals.This analysis will allow the regions to think about their positioning with respect to these Community instruments.

In total 102 projects were studied under the following programmes:

Interreg IV C – sub-theme « Innovation, Research and Technological Development (ERDF) : 21 projects and 218 beneficiaries
Regions of Knowledge (RoK) – RDT-FP7 : 40 projects and 425 beneficiaires
Europe Innova (EI) – CIP : 41 projects and 469 beneficiaries

A copy of the study as well as a list of the beneficiaries may be obtained by writing to tessa.anne@eurada.org

COST open call

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The next collection date for the submission of Preliminary Proposals for the COST open call is 24 September 2010, 17:00 Brussels time.

Approximately 80 Full Proposals will be invited for final selection of approximately 30 new Actions. Full Proposals will be invited by 12 November 2010 for submission by 14 January 2011, with decisions expected in May 2011.

The next collection date is envisaged for 25 March 2011.

COST stimulates new, innovative, interdisciplinary and broad research networks in Europe and although it does not fund research itself, it does support networking activities, with the aim of developing stronger links among European researchers as a contribution to building the European Research Area.

COST is asking for proposals for actions contributing to the scientific, technological, economic, cultural or societal development of Europe. Proposals playing a precursor role for other European programmes and/or initiated by early-stage researchers are especially welcome.

The full OJC call is to be found here.

ICT 2010 - networking sessions

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

85 networking sessions will take place at ICT 2010.

You are now able to add your comments to the different sessions and start to plan your agenda for the event. Selected networking sessions will provide you with a forum to exchange ideas and expertise on all scientific and technological subjects directly related to ICT, including FP7, the ICT PSP programme (CIP), and many more.

The sessions on the following topics might be of particular interest: Companion robotics, BNCI research, Living Labs and smart ICTs for well-being, an open service platform for interoperable AAL applications.

More here.

Last push to bring in EU patent by Belgian presidency

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Belgium, itself a country plagued by linguistic disputes, has made the introduction of the EU patent a centrepiece of its EU presidency agenda.

Plans for a Community patent were initiated in 2003, but progress has been hampered by repeated technical and legal difficulties, particularly a dispute about whether patents should be translated into the 23 official languages of the EU or just three working languages.

Innovative companies could see a 20 times reduction in the cost to patent a new invention if the Member States adopt the Commission’s plan to have patents issued in one of three working languages – English, French and German.

The current proposal on the table offers a special arrangement for inventors from countries where English, French or German is not an official language. Inventors from these countries will have the option of filing a patent application in their own language and having the costs of translation into one of the three working languages reimbursed. At present, a patent valid in, for example, 13 countries costs around EUR 20 000. Up to EUR 14 000 in costs arise for translating the documents into multiple languages.

The EC’s plan would reduce the cost of protecting IP in the 27 EU countries to around EUR 6 200 of which 10% would cover translation costs. In comparison, an American patent costs around USD 1 850 to file.

The information above was provided by TII - Technology Innovation International

Tel: +352 46 30 351• Fax: +352 46 21 85 Web: http://www.tii.org; email: tii@tii.org

Internationally active SMEs yield better results

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

In 2009 the Commission launched a study to map the level of internationalisation of European SMEs, identify which are the main barriers and advantages of internationalisation and propose policy recommendations.

The study analysed all activities that put SMEs into a meaningful business relationship with a foreign partner: exports, imports, foreign direct investment, international subcontracting and international technical co-operation. The data and conclusions are based on a survey of 9,480 SMEs in 33 European countries. The survey was carried out during spring 2009.

The action plan set out initiatives aimed at developing the market for organic food and improving standards by increasing efficiency, transparency and consumer confidence.EU member states could also see a rise in intra-EU trade, as organic production has grown much faster than demand in Central and Eastern European countries in recent years, the report said.

"In these conditions, it is no surprise that trade between member states and imports from third countries would increase at a fast pace," the European Commission said.

Retail spending on organic food averaged a total of 14.4 billion euros a year in 2006 and 2007, data quoted in the report showed. More than 80% of total retail spending was concentrated in four EU countries: Germany, Britain, France and Italy.

Organic consumption in Britain was badly hit by the economic recession, falling by 13.6%, the European Commission said.

By contrast, demand remained stable last year in Europe's largest organic market, Germany, and continued growing sharply in both France and Italy.

"This strong growth has been spurred by the entry of all major retailers, including hard discounters, in the market," the report concluded.

In terms of production, organic farming accounted for 4.3% of the bloc's total agricultural area in 2008 at 7.7 million hectares.

Italy has long had the largest area planted to organic farming in Europe, but was overtaken last year by Spain, with 1.1 million hectares.

"Some of the 'pioneers' in the sector such as Denmark, Finland, Sweden or Italy seem to have reached a plateau or display only slow growth," the report said.

Production in other pioneer countries including Austria and Germany continues to grow at a sustained rate, it added.

Despite the availability of export markets in Western Europe, production in the 12 countries that joined the EU since 2004 could be threatened by low domestic demand, the report warned.

"This may imply some difficulties for producers to sell their products and may endanger the sustainability of the overall sector," it said.

Further Information

Food industry's green efforts may hit price wall

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The European Food Sustainable Consumption and Production Round Table was launched in May 2009 It brings together farmers and suppliers, food and drink producers, packaging firms and consumer organisations to develop a methodology for assessing the environmental footprint of products by 2011. It also seeks to identify means of effective consumer communication regarding the environmental performance of products.

According to the European Commission, the food and drink sector contributes to some 23% of global resource use, 18% of greenhouse gas emissions and 31% of acidifying emissions, with most pressure on the environment coming from agriculture.

The principles agreed will guide the round table's future work on developing a uniform and scientifically reliable methodology for assessing the environmental impact of food and drink products.

It is also meant to serve as a communication tool for companies wanting to boast their green credentials.

The methodology, which is expected to be finalised by 2011, will address key sustainability challenges facing the food value chain, including climate change, resource efficiency, water use and waste reduction.

Mike Faupel from the Sustainability Consortium, an organisation of global companies seeking to improve consumer product sustainability, noted that the proliferation of eco-labels and other green claims led to confusion among consumers.

There is a need for more holistic approach and more transparency in how products are evaluated, he said.

EU principles underline that the environmental information should be provided in an easily understandable way that supports informed choice and allows consumers to compare products.

Further Information

European cooperation ensures global leadership in microelectronics

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Cooperation between semiconductor manufacturers, materials and equipment suppliers, and researchers has ensured that the European microelectronics industry can continue to maintain its global position in consumer electronics product design and manufacture.

The EUREKA MEDEA+ microelectronics Cluster FOREMOST project ensured that the advanced process modules and chip architectures required for full 45nm node CMOS logic and 50nm DRAM memory technologies are now being applied in European wafer-fabrication plants.

Development of innovative higher performance but less power hungry chips is a particular benefit for mobile phone and multimedia equipment producers.

More here.

New advances in stem cell treatment for heart damage

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Using bone marrow stem cells has already led to huge advances in treating heart attacks and cardiomyopathy. But a new approach, research into which has been partially funded under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), is looking even more promising.

EU support for the research comes from the CARDIOCELL ('Development of cardiomyocyte replacement strategy for the clinic') project, funded under the Health Theme of FP7, as well as the European Research Council (ERC). The British Heart Foundation, the Leducq Foundation and the UK's Medical Research Council have also contributed.

More here.

Cells' 'protein factory' filmed in action

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

EU-funded researchers have made a film showing cells' protein factories, ribosomes, in action. The work offers an unprecedented glimpse of the workings of these essential pieces of cellular machinery and could aid the development of new drugs.

The study, published in the journal Nature, received EU support through the 3D-REPERTOIRE ('A multidisciplinary approach to determine the structures of protein complexes in a model organism') project, which was funded under the Life sciences, genomics and biotechnology for health Thematic area of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).

More here.

Fighting cancer with greater accuracy

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Breast cancer is the most widespread form of cancer among women. Experts suggest that some 350,000 European women will be diagnosed with it this year.

Researchers in the EU-funded HAMAM ('Highly accurate breast cancer diagnosis through integration of biological knowledge, novel imaging modalities, and modelling') project believe that early detection is currently the most effective defence against breast cancer, and are developing ways to make more accurate diagnoses.

HAMAM has been funded EUR 3.6 million under the Information and communication technologies (ICT) Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

More here.

OSIRIS project to guide ICT research infrastructures

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A new consortium has started work on an international strategy for open and sustainable information and communications technology (ICT) research infrastructures.

The OSIRIS ('Towards an open and sustainable ICT research infrastructure strategy) project, funded with EUR 818,367 from the 'Information and Communication Technologies' Theme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), will create a platform to develop cross-border public-private partnerships (PPPs), and will establish a model for future large-scale investment in these important networks, facilities and services.

More here.

How three-legged dogs improve robot design

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

EU scientists working at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena in Germany have examined how three-legged dogs move in order to develop robots that can help them continue functioning in the event of the loss of a limb.

EU support for the research came from the LOCOMORPH ('Robust robot locomotion and movements through morphology and morphosis') project, which received EUR 2.7 million from the 'Embodied intelligence' Initiative within the 'Information and communication technologies' (ICT) Thematic area of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

More here.

Data Roaming Charges Capped

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

From 1 July 2010 consumers no longer need to worry about accidentally running up huge bills when they connect to the internet using mobile networks via a phone or computer when abroad in the EU. Thanks to the EU's roaming rules, from 1st July travellers' data-roaming limit will be automatically set at €50 excluding VAT (unless they have chosen another limit - higher or lower).

Operators will have to send users a warning when they reach 80% of their data-roaming bill limit. The operator will have to cut off the mobile internet connection once the limit has been reached, unless the customer has indicated they want to continue data roaming that particular month. In addition, maximum wholesale prices for data roaming will fall from €1 to 80 cents per MegaByte.

The maximum price for making a roaming call will be cut to 39 cents per minute (excluding VAT), instead of the current 43 cents, while receiving a call will cost a maximum of 15 cents per minute (excluding VAT), instead of 19 cents.

The cost of making and receiving calls when abroad in the EU will now be 73% cheaper than in 2005, when the EU first started to tackle excessive roaming charges

For more information click here

Bluefin tuna, naturally

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The evolution of multicellular life may not have required as much genetic modification as was previously thought, new research suggests.

Writing in the journal Science, an international team of researchers explains how it compared the genomes of two closely related species of algae: the multicellular Volvox carteri and the single-celled Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

More here.

Underwater communication made easy

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

How can scientists monitor what's going on under the sea? For instance, to survey populations of fish in the Arctic, scientists generally gather data manually during expensive research cruises.

A team of Norwegian researchers believes that setting up a network of wireless sensors is a much more effective solution.

They have tested their concept in the Oslo fjord, and are now ready to take the idea to the next level: Norwegian organisations Kongsberg Maritime and SINTEF will take part in the new EU-funded CLAM ('Collaborative embedded networks for submarine surveillance') and UAN ('Underwater acoustic network) projects, both funded under the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

More here.

EU wants to put GMO dispute to an end

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

At present, EU member states are only able to restrict genetically modified (GM) crop cultivation under strict conditions as authorisation licences are valid across the 27-country bloc, in accordance with the principles of the EU's single market.

Several member states have repeatedly invoked an EU safeguard clause enabling them to suspend the marketing or growth on their territory of GM crops that enjoy EU-wide authorisation, but the European Commission has never substantiated their applications and has always ordered the lifting of national bans.

In addition, the safety assessments performed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have come under criticism over the years . The EU executive has tried to introduce practical changes to the EFSA's GMO-approval process and in spring 2008, it mandated the agency to revise its guidance for the long-term environmental risk assessment of GM plants.

The EFSA itself has been trying to improve the openness and transparency of its work. During the French EU Presidency in 2008, EU ministers also called for the long-term environmental risk assessment of GMOs to be improved

The initiative aims to deliver on a promise made by European Commission President José Manuel Barroso before his reappointment last year.

At present, EU member states are only able to restrict GM crop cultivation under strict conditions, as authorisation licences are valid across the 27-country bloc, in accordance with the principles of the EU single market.

The plans would allow large-scale commercial planting in pro-GM countries such as Spain, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, opening up new markets for major biotech companies, while at the same time legally endorsing existing GM bans in countries like Italy, Austria and Hungary.

More Information

Jean Lilensten wins first Europlanet prize for excellence

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Dr Jean Lilensten of the Laboratoire de Planétologie de Grenoble in France has won the first Europlanet prize for excellence in public engagement with planetary science.

For over a decade, Dr Lilensten has been diligent in his pursuit to help school children better understand and appreciate the planetary aurorae. The fruits of his labour culminated in a wondrous experiment called 'planeterrella'.

The Europlanet Research Infrastructure is a EUR 6 million programme partially funded by the EU under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). Among other things, it is helping drive the EU's quest to raise awareness of science and improve science education in Europe.

More here.

What are you looking at?

Fri, 9 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

When negotiating a curve, car drivers look at specific points on the road to steer the wheel. A group of German researchers scrutinised the eye movements of test drivers, elucidating the details of their instinctive strategies in different types of curves.

Ultimately, this study could lead to the development of a warning system for safer driving on winding roads. These findings were published in the Journal of Vision by members of the EU-funded DRIVSCO ('Learning to emulate perception action cycles in a driving school scenario') research project. DRIVSCO received EUR 2.37 million from the Information Society Technologies Thematic area of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).

More Here.

Thu, 8 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The 8th Open Days will be held between 4 and 7 October 2010, a period during which the debate on the European Union's '2020' agenda, its policies and future budget, will be in full swing.

Regions and cities will play a major role in the discussions on 'EU2020' agenda, on the budget review, and on the future of EU cohesion policy post-2013.

The Open Days are an ideal framework for them to showcase good practice in the field of strengthening regional competitiveness, territorial co-operation and social and economic cohesion, to share experiences with others and to impact on the political debates among EU institutions and Member States.

In 2010, the Open Days will concentrate on 'competitiveness, co-operation and cohesion'. Please note the session on "Ageing and persons with disabilities – turning the challenge into opportunities through regional innovation with ICT and accessibility measures".

More here.

Internationally active SMEs yield better results

Tue, 6 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

25% of EU 27 small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) export or have exported at some point during the last 3 years. This is revealed in a new European Commission study available on line.

Internationally active SMEs report an employment growth of 7% whereas the figure stood at 1% for those without any international activities. There is also a strong relationship between internationalisation and innovation. 26% of internationally active SMEs introduced products or services that were new for their sector in their country; for other small businesses this is only 8%. However, international activities are mostly geared towards other countries inside the internal market and only about 13% of EU SMEs are active in markets outside the EU. European firms are more internationally active, compared with US and Japanese SMEs. These are some of the findings of the study “Internationalisation of European SMEs”. It maps the level of internationalisation of European SMEs and identifies the main barriers and advantages of internationalisation.

This study analysed 26 separate sectors. The highest percentage of internationalised SMEs is found in wholesale trade, mining, manufacturing and sale of motor vehicles. Within services, the sector 'research' scores very highly. Sectors of activity with the highest share of exporting SMEs are mining (58%), manufacturing (56%), wholesale trade (54%), research (54%), sales of motor vehicles (53%), renting (39%) and transport and communication (39%).

There is a direct link between internationalisation and increased SMEs performance.

1. The most relevant findings of the Survey:

- 25% of EU 27 SMEs export or have exported at some point during the last 3 years

- Partner countries are mostly other EU countries - 76% of all exporting SMEs are oriented towards the internal market.

- There is a direct link between the level of internationalisation and the size of the company. The larger the SME, the more internationalised it is.

- There is a negative correlation between the population size of the SME's home country and its level of international activity.

2. Better results for internationally active SMEs

- International SMEs create more jobs: Internationally active SMEs report an employment growth of 7% versus only 1% for SMEs without any international activities.

- International SMEs are more innovative: 26% of internationally active SMEs introduced products or services that were new for their sector in their country; for other SMEs this is only 8%.

- Import is a stepping stone to export: SMEs that both import and export, started with import twice as often (39%) than with exports (18%).

- Public support goes largely un-noticed: Only 16% of SMEs are aware of public support programmes for internationalisation and only a small number of SMEs use public support.

- European SMEs are more internationally active than US and Japanese SMEs. Overall, European firms are more active than their counterparts in Japan or the US. Even if only extra EU exports are considered they still perform better.

3. Recommendations for SME Policy Support

- awareness and use of public support programmes need to be promoted.

- Easier access to support measures for micro firms: they are the ones that need and would benefit more from support programmes.

- Innovation and internationalisation are closely related. This strongly suggests the co-ordination of policy measures aimed at stimulating innovation and internationalisation or even merge the agencies that implement these two types of policies.

- Import is a stepping stone to export. Public support programmes should take this fact into account.

Background:

The goal of this study was to provide an updated and comprehensive overview of the level of internationalisation of European SMEs. The data and conclusions of this study are based on a survey of 9,480 SMEs in 33 European countries. The survey was carried out during spring 2009. The study analysed all activities that put SMEs into any meaningful business relationship with a foreign partner: exports, imports, foreign direct investment, international subcontracting and international technical co-operation. The results allow an in-depth overview of the situation by Country, SME size (micro, small, medium) and sector (26 separate sectoral groupings were analysed)

More information

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme/market-access/internationalisation/index_en.htm

UK FP7 Security - Call 4 date, and a new National Contact Point (NCP).

Tue, 6 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The forthcoming call under FP7's Security theme is Call 4 and it is scheduled to open on Tuesday 20th July.

According to the new National Contact Point, Derek Gallagher, it is "a comprehensive call with something under each of the 4 main security missions and across the 3 cross cutting themes".

More information on Call 4 will follow very soon.

You can contact Derek on 0785 255 6502 and by email frederick.gallaher@virginmedia.com

What are the symptoms of male menopause?

Tue, 6 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

EU-funded scientists have identified the symptoms behind late-onset hypogonadism or 'male menopause', a rare condition that affects 2% of men.

Nine symptoms were linked for the first time to low testosterone production, the key factor in male menopause. The seven-year study was part of the EMAS ('European male ageing study') project, which received over EUR 6 million under the 'Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources' Thematic programme of the EU's Fifth Framework Programme (FP5).

More here.

EU-funded study offers hope of better treatments for neonatal diabetes

Tue, 6 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Muscle weakness experienced by many neonatal diabetes patients is caused by problems in the central nervous system and not the muscles, new EU-funded research reveals. The study, published in the journal Science, could lead to new and better treatments for the condition.

EU support for the work came from the BIOSIM ('Biosimulation - a new tool in drug development') project, which is funded under the 'Life sciences, genomics and biotechnology for health' Thematic area of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6), and the EDICT ('European drug initiative on channels and transporters') project, which is funded under the Health Theme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

More here.

The future of pensions in Europe � launch of Green Paper

Tue, 6 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The European Commission will present a Green Paper launching a wide-ranging debate on the future of pensions in Europe.

Following a decade of pension reforms in the EU, there is now a need to thoroughly review the European pension framework, taking an integrated approach to exploit synergies across economic and social policies and financial market regulation.

This Green Paper is a joint initiative of Commissioners Andor, Barnier and Rehn, taking into account the respective portfolio responsibilities including the social dimension of pensions, internal market rules and issues of sustainability. The consultation will call for views and fresh ideas for possible future EU actions.

On 7 July 2010 at 12:30: Commissioner Andor will give a press conference presenting the Green Paper, followed by a technical briefing on the record.

More information :

European Commission website on pensions – social affairs.

European Commission website on pensions – internal market.

European Commission website on pensions – economic and financial affairs.

Smart vehicle communications improve road safety

Tue, 6 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

In the future, cars stuck in traffic or on slippery roads will be able to communicate with others vehicles and road operators. In a bid to cut down on traffic jams and road accidents, the priority of the Escope project was to bring the benefits of eSafety to all road users.

Morer here.

� 30m programme to promote agricultural products

Mon, 5 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The European Commission has approved 19 programmes in 14 Member States (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain and the United Kingdom) to provide information on and to promote agricultural products in the European Union.

The total budget of the programmes running between one and three years is € 60.6 million, of which the EU will contribute € 30.3 million (50%). The selected programmes cover fruit and vegetables, meat, dairy products, honey, flowers, fibre flax, PDO, PGI and TSG and organic products.

For further information click here

Improved Framework to regulate Investment Funds

Mon, 5 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The European Commission has completed a programme of improvements to the EU framework for investment funds. These funds known as UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) accounted for over € 5 trillion of assets in 2009, which is equivalent to half of EU GDP.

The new rules better empower investors by requiring a new standardised fund document, while also setting out in detail the high standards of conduct of business that UCITS fund managers must comply with. In addition, the new rules improve the efficiency of the UCITS market in the EU by introducing and facilitating new possibilities for the pooling of assets from different funds, by simplifying the cross-border distribution of UCITS and by better coordinating the work of national supervisors. The new rules are to take effect from 1 July 2011.

For more information click here

Legislation: New Industrial emissions law by end of the year

Mon, 5 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Factories and power plants will have to take further steps to cut the emissions that cause acid rain, pollute rivers and soils, following an agreement struck between EU governments and MEPs on 18th June. Industrial plants are expected to have to comply with the new rules by 2012 although some of the most polluting plants will be exempt from the law for up to 13 years.

The law will require industrial plants - from steel-works to meat-processing plants - to use the most-advanced technologies and practices to reduce waste and hazardous substances, known as “best available techniques”. The law tightens emission limits for a wide range of pollutants, including nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, dust, asbestos and heavy metals.

The final agreement means that large combustion plants do not have to comply with the directive until 1 July 2020. Some plants nearing the end of their useful life will also be allowed to continue operating until the end of 2023, although they are limited to 17,500 hours of active service.

See full article here.

If this article affects your business and you’d like some further information please email info@enterprise-europe-scotland.com

Climate Change & the 2020 targets: Halfway there but ambitions still rise

Mon, 5 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Towards a 30% target by 2020?

European Commission recently presented an analysis of the costs, benefits and options for moving beyond the EU's greenhouse gas reduction target for 2020 from 20% below 1990 levels to 30% once the conditions are met.

This Communication follows the Commission's Communication on "How to reinvigorate international climate negotiations" and the Council's request to present an assessment on the impacts of a conditional move to a 30% emissions cut.

The Communication shows that the reduction in EU emissions as a consequence of the economic crisis, together with a drop in carbon prices, has changed the estimations two years ago when the revised ETS was presented.

See full press release here

For more information on the EU’s 2020 targets and how it may affect your business email info@enterprise-europe-scotland.com

Common charging system for electrical cars in Europe

Mon, 5 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The European Standardisation Organisations bodies (CEN-CENELEC and ETSI) will develop a common charging system for electric cars, scooters and bicycles.

The new standard ensures that all types of electric vehicles and their batteries are charged both safely and easily in all EU Member States. Thanks to this mandate plugs and connectors will use the same standard all across Europe, providing a true European solution independently of brands or countries. The Commission expects that the standard will be ready by mid-2011.

For further information click here

Algae � the future of bioenergy?

Fri, 2 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The search for sustainable sources of energy has led some to consider algae as a means of producing biomass.

Much well documented work has been done on different options for bringing algae into the energy production effort. Some 150 companies are currently active in pursuing its potential.

Using algae for energy purposes can be an alternative to land-based biomass cultivation, thus avoiding land-use conflict with other crops. Algae could promise productivity levels exceeding those of terrestrial plants.

There are many question marks, however, notably over timelines for commercial exploitation, R&D needs, levels of CO2, costs and barriers. A 16 page downloadable report on a recent workshop to assess the state of the art in this potentially important area is available here.

Digital Agenda: Commission launches consultation on net neutrality

Fri, 2 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

In recent years, the internet has undergone dramatic changes. More and more users are taking advantage of high-speed broadband connections. Services that require a high level of data transfer, such as internet television (IPTV) and video-sharing, are on the rise. Meanwhile new technologies have emerged, such as voice over internet protocol (VoIP), where voice calls can be conducted over the internet.

Within this context, internet service providers have developed tools to differentiate between the various websites and applications being accessed over their network, avoiding congestion and promoting efficient use of the network. This is known as 'traffic management'. These tools can be used for ensuring that networks function efficiently and for the provision of premium services such as IPTV, as long as they comply with EU rules and inform customers about the expected service quality. However, the same techniques may also have the effect of slowing down access to non prioritised services or applications, on either a fixed or a mobile connection, or of degrading the quality of other services. Some claim that treating one stream of data differently from another may harm users and undermine the openness of the internet.

An open and neutral internet underpins many of the targets set out in the Digital Agenda for Europe (http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/digital-agenda/index_en.htm )

The consultation covers such issues as whether internet providers should be allowed to adopt certain traffic management practices, prioritising one kind of internet traffic over another, whether such traffic management practices may create problems and have unfair effects for users, whether the level of competition between different internet service providers and the transparency requirements of the new telecom framework may be sufficient to avoid potential problems by allowing consumers' choice and whether the EU needs to act further to ensure fairness in the internet market, or whether industry should take the lead.

The consultation will feed into a Commission report on net neutrality, which should be presented by the end of this year. All interested parties – service and content providers, consumers, businesses and researchers – are invited to respond to the consultation by 30 September 2010.

The consultation document is available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/ecomm/library/public_consult/index_en.htm

Business Models in eHealth

Fri, 2 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

On top of increases in efficiency and effectiveness, interoperable eHealth systems are seen as an essential mechanism to enable EU citizens' access to healthcare regardless of geographical location, as well as the mobility of healthcare staff.

Furthermore, the socio-economic and policy developments previously indicated have
created a large pan-European commercial market for eHealth solutions. In order to tap into this potential, it is necessary for eHealth services to be devised in such a way as to respond directly to the specific operational needs of the healthcare delivery stakeholders towards whom they are targeted.

The European eHealth market was estimated at EUR14.269 million in 2008 and is projected to reach EUR15.619 million by 2012, with a compounded annual growth rate of 2.9%. Market size varies geographically, but the real differences reside in the market size of the four specific markets identified by the European lead market Initiative:

Clinical Information Systems (CIS),
Secondary Usage Non-Clinical Systems (SUNCS),
Telemedicine
Integrated Health Clinical Information Networks (IHCIN).

Between 2008 and 2013 the situation is to evolve, with a major shift from secondary usage Non-Clinical Systems (SUNCS) to clinical information systems (CIS). This suggests that eHealth systems are targeted more towards supporting the operational processes of healthcare professionals. In addition, Capgemini Consulting has identified a growing demand for integrated healthcare clinical information systems in light of an increasing need for data sharing among healthcare delivery organisations.

The evidence suggests that a solid business model is required for this aim: in particular, this business model needs to map all key supporting activities, value chain relationships, and dependencies impacted by the introduction of an eHealth service.

Strong senior management is required throughout the design and delivery of an eHealth service to ensure proper structuring and implementation of the business model. Achieving goals and objectives depends on appropriate operational steps. Staff involvement is also essential to ensure that business models do not fall short of reflecting the interactions of those actors who are expected to use them in their day-to-day professional activities. A business model is a static entity; however it may change as a consequence of technological and organisational evolution, or evolve following an evaluation aimed at measuring the potential and current impact of the eHealth system.

The ICT for Health Unit of DG Information Society commissioned a report on Business Models for eHealth which aims to extract guidelines for the development of business models for value-creating eHealth systems. The resulting report can be viewed at: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/health/docs/studies/business_model/business_models_eHealth_report.pdf

For more information on eHealth in Europe please seeL http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/health/whatis_ehealth/index_en.htm

EFA launches the first European Call to Action on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease at the European Parliament

Thu, 1 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

EFA has united EU officials, patients, NGOs and the medical community to address this major chronic disease and present the EFA book on COPD with a detailed Call to Action for Europe .

Today, EFA is organising an event at the European Parliament to gather support on the need to adopt a common approach at EU level on COPD. COPD is a disabling disease, which causesgradual restriction of airflow and consequent difficulty in breathing, can greatly impact patients’ social lives and ability to work.

With the adoption of this Call to Action, EFA aims to ensure that each European citizen has the best chance of being informed about COPD, an opportunity to prevent the disease and for those living with COPD the best chance of an early diagnosis and effective treatment.

More here.

Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) Call launched � deadline 13th October 2010

Thu, 1 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The 3rd Call for Proposals from the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) with a budget of 89M€ was launched on 18th June 2010. The Call covers topics under the following priority areas:

Transportation & Refuelling Infrastructure
Hydrogen Production & Distribution
Stationary Power Generation & CHP
Early Markets
Cross-cutting Issues

The Call deadline is deadline 13th October 2010 and details can be downloaded here.

The information above was provided by the Energie Helpline team in the UK. You can contact the Energie Helpline team and register for their regular emails.

Telephone 0161 874 3636, Web www.energiehelpline.co.uk

Hundreds of businesses in UK housing eco-drive, supported by the Small Business Research Initiative

Thu, 1 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Projects demonstrating technology to improve the environmental performance of social housing are under way around the country.

Under the Technology Strategy Board‟s Retrofit for the Future - Small Business Research Initiative programme, the builders are moving in to install the latest technologies for heating, insulation and ventilation in 86 different projects.

The funding provides new opportunities for architects and suppliers, lower environmental impact for developers, and better accommodation for tenants. A list of the projects can be found here.

Framework Programme 7 - FP7 Energy Calls for Proposals

Thu, 1 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Our colleagues at The Energie Helpline UK would like us to remind you that the following energy-related Calls for Proposals under FP7 are scheduled to be published on 30th July 2010.

These are:

FP7-ENERGY-2011-1: general call focusing on research with a long-term horizon;
FP7-ENERGY-2011-2: general call focusing on research with a short-term horizon and on demonstration;
FP7-ENERGY-2011-JAPAN: coordinated call with Japan on photovoltaics;
FP7-OCEAN-2011: call on ocean research organised together with Themes 2 – Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnology (KBBE), 6 – Environment, and 7 – Transport;
FP7-ENERGY-2011-EXCHANGE: call for International Research Staff Exchange in the field of energy research (USA and Japan);
FP7-2011-NMP-ENV-ENERGY-ICT-EeB: cross-thematic call on energy efficiency in buildings in the context of the European Economic Recovery Plan;
FP7-NMP-ENERGY-2011: joint call together with Theme 4 – NMP Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new Production Technologies on innovative photovoltaic cell processes and architectures;
FP7-ERANET-2011-RTD: joint call on ERA-NETs together with other FP7 themes.

Many of these and future calls will be closely aligned to the objectives of the EU‟s Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan).
The European Information Day on these Calls will be held in Brussels on 8th July 2010. More information and the registration page can be accessed here.

A UK Information Day on 2011 FP7 Energy and Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Calls for Proposals is being held in London on 15th July. You can register for the event here.

You can contact the Energie Helpline team and register for their regular emails.

Telephone 0161 874 3636, Web www.energiehelpline.co.uk

New start date for the 2011 NMP Call

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Latest indications are that the 2011 NMP (including the PPPs) call will open on the 20th of July 2010.

Further information on the proposed topics for Work Programme 2011 is available from the NCP National Contact Point.

We strongly recommend registering on the FP7 NCP NCP website for more information uncluding details of what might be included in the next work programme.

You can also start to use the NMP TeAm website to search for partners.

Second sight: breakthrough research offers hope to millions

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

EU-funded scientists have succeeded in awakening dormant vision cones, an achievement that may lead to saving millions of people from going blind. The dormant cones, which normally remain in the eye even after blindness has occurred, were successfully reactivated by an international team of scientists led by the Friedrich Miescher Institute in Switzerland and the Institut de la vision in France. The findings are published in the journal Science.

The study was funded in part by two EU projects: RETICIRC ('Circuit specific approaches to retinal diseases'), financed with EUR 2.25 million under the Health Theme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7); and NEURAL CIRCUIT ('Combining genetic, physiological and viral tracing methods to understand the structure and function of neural circuits'), supported as a Marie Curie Excellence Grant under the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).

More here.

Bees are sticklers for strict work schedule

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Researchers from Queen Mary University of London in the UK have discovered that bumblebees are strict about when and how long they work. Presented in the journal BMC Biology, the research is an outcome of the LAPBIAT ('Lapland atmosphere-biosphere facility') project, which received almost EUR 1.5 million under the Research Infrastructures action of the EU's Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) to investigate the interactions between the ecosystems around or north of the Arctic Circle.

More here.

Eco-innovation call for proposals

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The European Commission has launched a call for proposals, entitled “PRO INNO Europe®: Better policies and instruments in support of eco-innovation”.

The call aims to set up a consortium to expand the knowledge base on the role that public policies and actors can play in the field of eco-innovation, focusing on innovation agencies and programmes, most efficient approaches and expected results.

The action will identify best practice at national level in the areas of recycling, Green Public Procurement and international actions. A reflection group will also be set up to analyse eco-innovation policy in the EU, and promote the most promising approaches.

The value of the call is €3 million for up to 36 months, the EU financial contribution is up to 95%. Deadline for submissions is 30 September 2010, 17:00 Brussels time.

More here.

The Belgian EU Presidency � Work Programme

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The Belgian Presidency of the EU, which will start on 1 July and run for the second half of 2010, has published its detailed Work Programme.

Listed below are the main priority issues it will focus on in the environment area:

Biodiversity
The Presidency will prepare the EU’s negotiation line for the meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan in October 2010. The Council will also start debating forthcoming Commission proposals relating to ecosystem services, invasive exotic species, illegally harvested wood and biomass sustainability criteria.

Sustainable management of materials
The Presidency will hold an Informal Council on 11-13 July to discuss and adopt conclusions on how the transition to a resource efficient economy can be ensured in each phase of the lifecycle of materials, products and waste.
The Council will also continue negotiations with the Parliament on ongoing legislative dossiers, such as RoHS, WEEE and biocides.

The best instruments for environmental policy
The transparency, coordination and application of existing EU environment legislation will be a focus area for the Presidency. It intends to adopt conclusions on initiatives on improving the application of waste legislation, harmonised environmental inspection criteria, evaluation of the effects of environmental reporting, and an improved system of environment information.

The Presidency will also initiate a policy debate on the 7th Environment Action Programme (EAP), focusing on how to improve the management, definition and application environmental policy.
Debates in the Council will also deal with economic incentives aimed to foster changes in behaviours which are harmful to the environment, and to promote energy-efficient products and services.

More here.

European Legislation Alerts

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Commission Regulation 471/2010

List of third countries from which certain agricultural products obtained by organic production must originate to be marketed within the Union

Enters Into Force - 08.06.2010

Commission Regulation 474/2010

Common rules for the granting of private storage aid for certain agricultural product

Enters Into Force - 01.03.2010

Commission Regulation 854/2004

Specific rules for the organisation of officials controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption

Enters Into Force - 07.07.2010

Commission Regulation 514/2010

Authorisation of Pediococcus pentosaceus (DSM 16244) as a feed additive for all animal species

Enters Into Force - 08.07.2010

EU may up its stake in COST science programme

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The EU should add EUR 40 million to its contribution to the international Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) programme, according to a declaration issued following the COST Ministerial Conference on 15 June in Palma de Majorca (Spain). The meeting, which was organised by the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, was attended by representatives of COST Member States.

If the recommendation of the mid-term evaluation of the COST programme, carried out by a panel of independent experts, and the conference's call for a budget increase is taken up, COST's total budget would rise to EUR 250 million for the duration of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

More here.

OECD Innovation Strategy Launched

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The OECD’s new innovation strategy entitled “Getting a Head Start on Tomorrow” was launched at the end of May in Paris.

The report calls for a change in emphasis of innovation policies by highlighting the need for a better match between supply-side inputs and the demand side, including the role of markets.

Governments must continue to lead and invest in big science challenges, such as climate change, but must also do more to coordinate their policies across borders. This involves promoting international mechanisms to share the cost of innovation through cooperation and technology transfer between countries.

Young firms are key to job creation, the OECD says. In the United States, for example, firms less than five years old have accounted for nearly all of the increase in employment in the private sector in the past 25 years. OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria called on governments, as they embarked on fiscal consolidation, not to jeopardize long-term growth by cutting spending on areas like research and education which were essential for a country’s future. They also need to ensure that they do not waste the money invested in fostering innovation.

Simple measures like cutting red tap, reforming universities to give them more independence and opening up access to more public research data can all help to increase the efficiency of public spending on innovation.

More here.

Creativity and schizophrenia use similar brain canals

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have discovered that the brains of healthy, highly creative people are similar to that of schizophrenic patients in some aspects: in both cases, the dopamine system is involved.

Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that is characterised by social malfunction and a range of psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations, or inarticulate and disorganised thoughts. According to a 2005 global scientific survey by Sukanta Saha and colleagues, about 4 in 1,000 people are affected by schizophrenia worldwide. This is far below the widespread 1% estimate.

More here.

ERC celebrates 1,000 frontier research ideas

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The European Research Council (ERC) has celebrated its biggest landmark since its 2007 launch: 1,000 researchers have successfully clinched key financial support to conduct innovative 'blue sky' research.

The ERC marked the symbolic awarding of the 1,000th grant, to Professor Erika von Mutius of the Ludwig-Maximilians- Universität München in Germany, at a special event in Munich, Germany on 24 June.

Officials and leading researchers attending the ceremony included EU Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science Máire Geoghegan-Quinn and ERC President Professor Helga Nowotny.

More here.

High-level panel appointed to measure innovation

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science Maire Geoghegan-Quinn has nominated a High-Level Panel on the Measurement of Innovation. Its task is to advise the European Commission on indicators measuring Europe’s progress towards a more innovative economy.

Membership of the panel includes: Prof. Andreu Mas-Collell (Spain) – chair/coordinator, Dr. Martin Curley (Ireland), Prof. Dominique Foray (France/Switzerland), Prof. Bronwyn Hall (Netherlands/USA), Dr. Hugo Hollanders (Netherlands), Dr. Branko Huc (Slovenia), Prof. Henning Kagermann (Germany), Prof. Franco Malerba (Italy), Dr. Erkki Ormala (Finland), Dr. Helmar Rendez (Germany), Dr. Ammon Salter (UK), Mr Marek Serafin (Poland) and Mr Diogo Vasconcelos (Portugal).

Further information and CVs of panel members are here.

Last days to submit comments - Digital Agenda: European high-level panel consults on ICT solutions to help elderly to live more independently

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A consultation inviting citizens, businesses and researchers to share ideas on how best to use information and communications technologies (ICTs) to help older Europeans live more independently, and more generally to establish new ways to put ICTs at the service of the most vulnerable members of society, has been launched by a high-level panel established to advise the European Commission on the functioning of the Ambient Assisted Living joint programme (AAL JP).

The panel is chaired by former European Commissioner Meglena Kuneva. The public consultation runs until 1 July 2010.

More here.

European chemical and water sectors team up to cut water use

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry (Suschem) and the European Water Platform (WssTP) have set-out a high-level roadmap for sustainable water use.

This involves an integrated water management system between the chemical industry, urban water and value-chain partners.

More here.

Call for proposals for social experimentation

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The European Commission has published under PROGRESS, the EU’s employment and social solidarity programme, a Call for Proposals that seeks to promote social experimentation as a source of innovation in the social policies falling within the open method of coordination applied to social protection and social inclusion (the social OMC) in the European Union.

Social experiments are intended to:

Provide innovative answers to social needs
Initially be undertaken on a small scale owing to existing uncertainty as to their effects
Be implemented in conditions which ensure the possibility of measuring their effects
Be repeated on a wider scale if the results prove convincing.

Selected projects should contribute to developing and testing socially innovative approaches to EU policy priorities in the context of the social OMC such as active inclusion, housing exclusion and homelessness, child poverty and social inclusion of migrants.

Particular attention will be paid to projects with a focus on the social inclusion of young people.

More here.

Britain 'needs smart living plan for disabled and older people', say experts

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Experts working across the field of disabled and older people have called for a national overall coherent plan to develop fully integrated systems and services which meet their needs.

Such an urgent need was expressed by speakers addressing some 80 delegates at a seminar held at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills , London, on June 15, and organised by the charity PhoneAbility in collaboration with BIS.

The delegates, from a wide range of businesses and services, were told that although there were many excellent pilot schemes for providing various components of such smart living systems and services there was a serious lack of an overall plan. The roles of many sectors needed to be taken into account including architecture, professional engineering, building, medicine, energy, communications, transport and organisations providing caring resources and bodies representing disabled and older people.

Without such a plan this fragmentary situation would worsen year by year for the 10 million Britons over the age of 65 (of whom five million are disabled) and for the seven million disabled people of working age.

More here.

Bilingual people retrieve native language when reading

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Bilingual people continue to retrieve sounds from their native language even if they believe they only think in one language at a time, according to researchers at Bangor University in the UK. The scientists found that adults fluent in English but whose first language is Chinese unconsciously rely on their native language when reading in English.

The scientists concluded that their study suggested that people who learn a second language in adolescence or later continue to recall the sounds of words from their native language even if they become fluent in their second language.

Support for the research, which cost just under EUR 1 million, came from the European Research Council (ERC) and the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

More here.

Food in the EU is now safer thanks to more controls and fewer and less harmful residues

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

As of January this year, the EU has in essence established a common control border as regards certain fruits and vegetables. For these imported products a new control regime has been introduced, which provides that consignments are checked at the EU border before their entry into the Union. To witness how the system works in practice, EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, John Dalli, visited the Port of Antwerp and Mechelse Veilingen, a farm cooperative and vegetable auction close to Mechelen.

Commissioner Dalli said: "What I have seen today fully reassures me that the fruit and vegetables that reach our tables are safe. I am convinced that food safety "best practices" like those we have seen today are spreading across Europe and work silently towards the same objective: to provide EU citizens with safer and greener food." The Commissioner concluded: "Member States have allocated a considerable amount of resources to make the new system work. And it has been a success".

The onsite visits

The Antwerp-Mechelen trip gave Commissioner Dalli the opportunity to witness first hand the efforts of farmers and distributors to keep pesticide residues as low as possible. The two onsite visits verified that several layers of controls concerning pesticide residues are carried out before fruit and vegetables reach the EU citizens' tables. These controls are required by EU law and are combined with rigorous EU rules on pesticides.

Safer pesticides

The EU pesticide legislation is probably the strictest in the world and the EU has undertaken several important achievements to improve the level of consumer protection. Over the last two years the Commission harmonised the legislation on maximum residue levels of pesticides in food and feed and finalised the evaluation of pesticides on the market. This exercise led to the withdrawal of about 700 substances out of the original 10001.

Furthermore, the EU adopted stricter rules on pesticide approval in November 20092 and they will enter into force in June 2011. These rules concern carcinogens, mutagens and substances that are toxic for reproduction and endocrine systems. The new rules will not allow the approval of such substances unless exposure to humans is negligible.

Further Information and Full Story

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Industrial CASE PhDs provide research training in an area of relevance to an industrial partner and are an excellent means of knowledge exchange between the academic and commercial worlds. BSBRC’s Industrial CASE Studentship Competition will award Doctoral Training Grants (DTGs) for start in October 2011 to support collaborative postgraduate research training leading to a PhD. Proposals for Industrial CASE studentship funding can be submitted by either the industrial company or an individual academic supervisor (citing an industrial partner).

A flyer is attached and full details of the competition are on the BBSRC website at: http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/business/training/industrial-case.aspx

Contact the HealthTech and Medicines KTN Team for more information: mrhodes@bioindustry.org, mbustard@bioindustry.org, dsmith@bioindustry.org, gouldings@bioindustry.org

What are the benefits to the company?

• An opportunity to have a high quality PhD student undertaking basic research relevant to company objectives

• The freedom to choose academic partners and opportunities to explore new research collaborations

• Direct supervision of a high quality graduate providing insight into potential company recruits

What is the company required to provide?

• A student placement of between 6 and 18 months

• Development opportunities for the student in wider business-related skills

• An enhancement of just £2,500 pa to the student’s stipend and a contribution of £1,400 to the costs incurred by the academic department

MRC INDUSTRIAL CASE SCHEME

The MRC will be funding approximately 30-35 individual Industry CASE PhD studentships this year, to be taken up in 2011. As previously, the aim is to award at least five of these to Small & Medium Sized Enterprises. The aim of the MRC Industrial CASE awards is to provide PhD students with a first rate, challenging training experience within the context of a mutually beneficial collaboration between academic and industry research programme leaders.

More information can be found here: http://www.mrc.ac.uk/Fundingopportunities/Studentships/IndustrialCASE/MRC004608 or please feel free to contact MRCStudents@ssc.rcuk.ac.uk with all queries related to MRC Industrial CASE proposals.

EU waters down industrial pollution law

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The EU has struck an agreement on a planned Industrial Emissions Directive, imposing stricter limits on air, soil and water pollution but allowing coal-fired plants derogations until mid-2020.

The political agreement reached between negotiators from the European Parliament and member states last Wednesday (16 June) recasts the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive, combining it with six other pollution laws.

It was endorsed by member-state experts on Friday.

The agreement seeks to close loopholes in the previous legislation to ensure that industrial installations meet stricter limits on the pollutants they release.

It obliges industrial operators to obtain permits from national authorities based on best available techniques, which are considered the most cost-effective means of achieving a high level of environmental protection. The permits include precise limit values for atmospheric pollutants that cause acid rain and smog, such as sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and dust.

Environmentalists, however, regretted the weak provisions on large combustion plants (LCPs), a result of hard lobbying by member states such as the UK, Poland and Italy, which wanted to ensure the widest possible derogations for their ageing coal-fired plants.

Countries may therefore delay meeting more stringent pollution standards until 30 June 2020 by drawing up transitional national plans to ease the burden of cleaning up their industry.

For the full story and more info visit here

Black carbon�s global warming role �still unproven�

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The fine dust particles emitted from burning wood or fuel, referred to as black carbon, are "likely to play a role in climate change" but should not divert attention away from carbon dioxide, EU officials said.

Black carbon has recently been the focus of attention after some studies identified it as a major contributor to global warming, coming second only to CO2.

Dark smoke fuming from burning forests, the exhaust pipes of diesel cars or kitchen stoves that burn biomass absorbs sunlight and captures it as heat in the Earth's atmosphere, according to researchers. Moreover, it can affect precipitation patterns and cloud formation.

But EU policymakers speaking in Brussels yesterday (22 June) cautioned that more research must be carried out to ascertain its impact more accurately.

"From the scientific point of view, it is not that certain yet," said Frank Raes, head of the climate change unit at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC).

However, he said black carbon was "likely" to contribute to climate change.

In addition to climate change, the health implications of particulate pollution make a compelling case for tackling black carbon, speakers agreed. Like other small particulates, it causes premature death and respiratory disease, they claimed.

Raes argued that the regional impacts of black carbon may be even more significant than its global warming effect. In the Arctic or the Himalayas, for instance, soot settling on ice and snow cover is accelerating melt rates, he said.

While CO2 remains the biggest global warming culprit, the advantage of tackling black carbon is that it is short-lived and can therefore have a beneficial impact on the climate only 5-10 years after its emissions are cut.

CO2 remains top priority

But a senior Commission official warned against allowing the black carbon discussion to distract from the EU's focus on cutting CO2 emissions, which he said remains the top priority.

"We should be careful not to reverse priorities," said Niels Ladefoged, a member of Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard's cabinet, suggesting that the EU was already dealing with the problem under its air quality legislation.

The existence of both black and white aerosols, with warming and cooling impacts, makes it less straightforward to make a case for political action on black carbon, the speakers added.

Nick Nuttall, spokesperson for the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), said studies on black carbon would need more precision before policymakers could move forward. He suggested that the world could eventually start looking into creating a carbon fund for black carbon like that created to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD).

He confirmed that politicians seem to be nervous about "taking the eye off the CO2 ball and focusing it on something else".

_connect to the Knowledge Transfer networks

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Members of Knowledge Transfer Networks now have access to _connect , a new online collaboration space for innovation.

Established by the Technology Strategy Board, the new resource provides an interactive forum for sharing information and knowledge, making connections and finding ideas and partners across the ‘network of networks’ to facilitate innovation.

The Knowledge Transfer Networks’ pages on the system are being populated with a wealth of information, and KTN members are now transferring their registration from the previous KTN portal to the new system. There is also a new forum for businesses interested in Framework Programme 7 funding from Europe. In future other networks will also be able to establish themselves on the site, building a wide-ranging online innovation forum for the UK.

Knowledge Transfer Networks cover a wide range of industries and applications, and joining a network on _connect is free and open to all.

Visit _connect here.

EU creates tsunami early warning system

This call for proposals aims to help new EU entrepreneurs enrich their experiences, learning and networking by spending time with experienced entrepreneurs in their enterprises in other EU Member States.

Call deadline is 30 June 2010. Scheduled start up date of the action is 1st February 2011.

The overall objective of the preparatory action is to enhance the entrepreneurship, internationalisation and competitiveness of potential start�]up entrepreneurs and newly established micro and small enterprises in the EU. The programme is intended for people setting up a business and recently established entrepreneurs.

The call comprises two lots with two types of activity:

Lot 1: intermediary organisations enhancing and facilitating the mobility of nascent entrepreneurs.
Lot 2: Support to, coordination and networking of intermediary organisations carrying out the activities mentioned above.

To date, 1200 potential New and Host Entrepreneurs from 24 EU countries have applied to participate in the programme, with Spain and Italy leading the way (29% of New Entrepreneurs and 30% of Host Entrepreneurs respectively).

The advertising/promotion/media is the most requested sector (15% of the current exchanges), followed by Education and training (10%).

More here.

JRC's on-site nuclear safety labs mark 10th anniversary

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

On 15 June, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) Institute for Transuranium Elements (ITU) and Directorate-General for Energy, together with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), celebrated 10 years of monitoring the safety of reprocessed nuclear fuel in their on-site laboratories in Sellafield, UK and La Hague, France.

The event, held at the JRC-ITU in Karlsruhe, Germany, gathered around 120 professionals working in the area of nuclear safeguards to discuss the latest developments in the field.

More here.

Non-conventional yeasts promise big taste with fewer calories

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A new culture of opportunities is being created for beer, cheese, yoghurt and wine.
Reliable flavour notes and the health-promoting benefits of probiotics go hand in hand with yeast cultures being developed by a new consortium, Cornucopia, coordinated by Professor Jure Piskur of Lund University in Sweden and financed with EUR 3.4 million from the EU.

More here.

Spain takes over EU Council Presidency

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Spain has identified three 'axes' to drive the ERA forward: integration, involvement and inclusion. The integration axis refers to the importance of integrating research and development (R&D) policies into other policies - and specifically into the EU's strategy for 2020.

Through the involvement axis, Spain will seek to ensure that all instruments supporting R&D and innovation in Europe, whether they are regional, national or pan-European in nature, address the 'major challenges' faced by society today. These include climate change, the search for new sources of energy, ageing and disease, and globalisation.

More here.

Europeans decipher signature of kidney transplant tolerance

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Most kidney transplant patients have to take heavy immunosuppressive medication to make sure their body does not reject the new organ. But a few lucky ones can live perfectly well without the drugs. An EU-funded team of scientists has now found out what exactly is so special about them.

The project was funded under the 'Life sciences, genomics and biotechnology for health' Thematic area of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).

More here.

Clean Sky JTI calls for proposals Deadline 30th June

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The call covers a number of areas under the Smart Fixed Wing Aircraft (SWFA) section of the Clean Sky JTI. Clean Sky research and technology development projects are objective-driven research projects, aiming to develop new knowledge, new technology and solutions. In many instances, the projects will contribute to one of the demonstrators developed in one of the six major technology areas by the initiative.

Due to the nature of the call, it is set up as a collection of very detailed topics.

These are:
- micro electro-mechanical system (MEMS) accelerometer for wing behaviour measurement and the design of a MEMS accelerometer for SFWA purposes,
- MEMS gyrometer for wing behaviour measurement and the evaluation of the potential of MEMS gyro technologies issued from an industrial application for SFWA purposes,
- starboard leading edge and upper cover design and manufacturing and the design and manufacturing of the starboard leading edge and the upper cover of a natural laminar flow (NFL) wing,
- Krueger flaps design and manufacture and the design and manufacturing of Krueger flaps for two flight demonstrator wings.

More here.

Cleansky website is here.

Scottish midge scientists unleash new repellent on the country's �scourge'

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The new Smidge repellent has been developed by Advanced Pest Solutions Ltd (APS), at its laboratories in the University of Edinburgh's ETTC Biospace facility. The development was led by Dr Alison Blackwell, a world-renowned authority on midge behaviour and leader of the scientific team behind the Scottish Midge Forecast, which has been providing forecasts for print and television media for the past few years.

More here on the Nexxus website.

Heating pump technology advances geothermal energy use

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A team of businesses and researchers in Serbia and Slovenia, with support from the Eureka Network, has developed a heat pump technology which makes use of ground source heat as a climate-friendly, cost-effective alternative to fossil fuels.

More here.

"CE Marking" - what does it really mean?

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The marking signals that a product is in compliance with all relevant EU legislation, making it eligible to be marketed and sold throughout the EU. By affixing the CE marking on a product, a manufacturer is declaring, on his sole responsibility, conformity with all relevant legal requirements, in particular those which ensure health, safety, and environmental protection. Legal and economic repercussions of non-conformity abuses are so great that it will deter the vast majority of legitimate businesses from not respecting these laws. This campaign is directed primarily to economic operators, to raise their awareness and understanding of the CE marking.

Industry and Entrepreneurship Commissioner, Vice-President Antonio Tajani said: “We need to boost the visibility of and public trust in the CE marking. Our campaign aims to promote a better understanding of the meaning behind the marking and the purpose of its use. However, this confidence is also dependent on the reliability of the system on which the CE mark is based. Thus it will boost consumer’s confidence and benefit producers and distributors.”

Not all products sold in the EU need to bear CE marking. It applies to approximately 23 different product categories, such as toys, electrical products, machinery, personal protective equipment and lifts.

CE marking does not indicate that a product was made in the EEA, but merely states that the product is assessed before it is placed on the market and therefore satisfies the legislative requirements (e.g. a harmonised safety level). It means that the manufacturer has verified that the product complies with all relevant essential requirements (e.g. health and safety requirements) of the applicable directive(s),or had it examined by a notified conformity assessment body.

For products manufactured in the EU, it is the manufacturer’s responsibility to carry out the conformity assessment, to set up the technical file, to issue the EC declaration of conformity and to affix CE marking on a product. Distributors must verify the presence of both the CE marking and the necessary supporting documentation. For products imported from a third country, the importer has to verify that the manufacturer outside the EU has undertaken the necessary steps and that the documentation is available upon request. The CE marking makes life easier for enterprises and national authorities:

The procedures, measures and sanctions applying to counterfeiting/abuse of the CE marking are laid down in the respective Member State's national administrative and penal law. Depending on the seriousness of the offence, economic operators may be liable to a fine and in some circumstances, imprisonment. However, if the product is not regarded as an imminent safety risk, the manufacturer may be given a second opportunity to ensure that the product is in conformity with the applicable legislation, before being obliged to take the product off the market.

For more information, click here to view the Enterprise Europe Scotland's guide to CE Marking.

Study sheds light on plants' nutrient sensing mechanisms

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

An international team of scientists has unravelled the mechanisms by which plants modify their root structure to maximise access to nutrients in the soil. The study, published in the journal Developmental Cell, was partly supported by the EU.

More here.

Rail corridor respects Europe's natural treasures

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A transport corridor stretching from Scandinavia to the southern Balkans will help integrate Europe's freight rail system. The Reorient project will let the train take the strain by using railways rather than roads to transport freight, helping to preserve the natural environment.

The project was supported by the EU funded FP6-SUSTDEV programme.

More here.

Call for proposals by The European Investment Bank for sponsorships within its EIB- University Research Sponsorship Programme

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has issued a call for proposals for sponsorships within its EIB-University Research Sponsorship Programme (EIBURS).

For the academic year 2010/2011, three new lines of research have been selected:

Benchmarking European small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) credit performance
The history of European infrastructure finance
The economic impact of law: an economic assessment of the impact of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive

Under the EIBURS programme, successful applicants are eligible for a grant of up to EUR 300,000 over a 3-year period. Research proposals that take a quantitative and qualitative, cross-disciplinary approach and involve collaboration between academics from different European countries are particularly encouraged by the EIB.

More here.

EU launches forestry sustainable development tool

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

EU researchers have developed a tool to help governments and industry make sustainable development the number one goal of the EU forestry sector.

Wed, 9 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The Green Electronics in Aeronautic and Military Communication Systems LIFE project focused on lead-free assembly of electronic equipment for the aeronautical and military sectors.

These sectors require reliable, secure and maintainable electronics, which perform well under harsh environmental conditions. The Green Electronics in Aeronautic and Military Communication Systems (GEAMCOS) LIFE project set out to develop both an assembly process for current electronic equipment with lead-free soldering, and a fully lead-free assembly process.

More here.

A More Innovative Europe

Tue, 8 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The EIS covers 33 European countries, including all 27 EU member states. For each country, a summary innovative index is calculated from 29 indicators including things such as: the conditions in which innovation can flourish (human resources, finance, support), the innovative activitues if companies (investment, linkages, entrepreneurship and throughputs such as patents) and outputs.

Based on the 2009 report, the Innovation leaders group is topped by Switzerland and is followed by Sweden, Finland, Germany, the UK and Denmark.

Innovation followers include Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium, Ireland, France, the Netehrland, Estonia, Iceland, Cyprus and Slovenia

Moderate innovators include the Czech Republic, Portugal, Norway, Spain, Greece, Italy, Malta, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Lithuania

And the “catch up” countries, whose innovation performance is well below the EU-27 average, although improving all the time, are Romania, Croatia, Latvia, Bulgaria, Turkey and Serbia.

Over the last five years, overall EU performance has improved by an average of 1.8% per year with gains being seen in every country, most rapidly in the lower-ranked ones.

The scoreboard also compares innovation in Europe with its competitors and sees the EU still lagging behind the USA and Japan in innovation performance, despite steady gains relative to Europe’s global counterparts.

As in previous years, the 2009 EIS looked at specific areas of innovation. This time, the topics reviewed were sectoral innovation performance, user innovation and internationalisation.

For a copy of the full EIS 2009 and for further information please visit here

EUROPRACTICE offers boon to nanotechnology researchers

Tue, 8 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The EUROPRACTICE integrated circuit (IC) service has brought the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) into its fold, furthering the close collaboration between this prominent semiconductor foundry and the Belgium-based Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (Imec), a leading nanoelectronics research centre.

As a result, TSMC's 40-nanometre technologies, which enable the low-cost prototyping and production of very low-power devices, will soon be available to many research centres and universities across Europe.

More here.

Milestone for Safe Electric Cars

Tue, 8 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The United Nations has passed the first international regulation on the safety of electric cars, including hybrids. The European Commission has welcomed this decision as the first step towards facilitating the early roll-out of entirely safe electric cars onto our roads.

The regulation outlines how manufacturers should protect car users against the high voltages - typically around 500 volts - used to operate electric vehicles.

For more information please visit: http://bit.ly/agBZxZ

Europeans welcome new science education web portal

Tue, 8 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A new, multilingual web portal has been launched that will help those involved in science education in the EU to share materials, resources and experiences. Called SCIENTIX ('The community for science education in Europe'), the portal was set up with funding from the Science in Society (SIS) Programme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

The initiative is managed by European Schoolnet (EUN), a network of 31 European education ministries.

More here.

Building designers invited to engage in climate change innovation challenge

Mon, 7 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Building design teams are being invited to compete for a total of just under £5m investment in projects that will devise ways of adapting buildings so that they can withstand climate change.

The Technology Strategy Board will invest a total of £2.5m in the research and development project in 2010 and a further £2.4 m in 2011.

The competition will focus on large scale building projects aimed at low impact standards, both new build and major refurbishment. Individual businesses will be awarded contracts worth up to £100,000 to cover the costs of developing an adaptation strategy.

This will be a single-stage competition running over two rounds. Round one opens on 14th June 2010 and closes on 22nd July 2010 (noon). More information can be found here.

Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) 2010 Call for Proposals � Deadline 24th June 2010

Mon, 7 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The 2010 Call for Proposals was launched on 23rd March 2010. The Call budget is 56M€ and the Call deadline is 24th June 2010. There is not much time left to submit a project.

The Call documentation can be accessed here.

The European Information Day on the 2010 Call for Proposals was held on 3rd February. The presentations from this event can be downloaded and in some cases viewed online here. The presentations provide an excellent overview of the topics that are covered by the 2010 Call and examples of projects that have been funded in previous Calls.

The UK Information Day was held on 12th March. The presentations from this event can be downloaded here.

An updated version of the IEE Financial Guidelines can be downloaded here.

We would strongly advise you contact the Energie Helpline team if you are preparing a proposla. The team provide support to UK organisations in the run up to the proposal deadline.

Energie Helpline UK
T - 0161 874 3636
F - 0161 848 0181
E - energie@enviros.com
www.energiehelpline.co.uk

Nanotechnology: potential benefits, unknown risks

Mon, 7 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

As the European Commission works to shape the EU’s future nanotechnology strategy, experts from across the Union are calling for more research into potential environmental risks.

Nanotechnology has the potential to enhance environmental protection, whilst boosting Europe’s industrial competitiveness. Nanomaterials can be found in an increasing number of products. From electronic equipment and cars to cosmetics and textiles, nanotechnology is increasing the resource and energy efficiency of industrial processes and products.

More here.

Laser melting key to better aircraft engine parts

Mon, 7 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Manufacturing components for aircraft engines is not an easy task. The components must be lightweight yet strong enough to tolerate extreme conditions. They need to endure 1,000 rotations every second and withstand heat of up to 2,000°C, and above all, they need to meet stringent safety standards.

EU-funded scientists have succeeded in demonstrating the feasibility of components for a kind of 'biocomputer', paving the way for new advances in the field of bioengineering. The scientists, from the Chemistry Department at the University of Liège in Belgium and the Institute of Chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel, set out the details of their work in an article in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

EU support for the research came from the 'Information and communication technologies' (ICT) Theme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

More here.

Secrets of the opposite sex revealed, virtually

Thu, 3 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Technology created by European scientists has placed male volunteers into the virtual body of a woman. It is the only technology of its kind that convinces the user that the female body they are looking at is their own, providing an illusion not only of a different place but also of a different self. Presented in the journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) ONE, the research for the immersive virtual reality (IVR) initiative was part of the EU-funded PRESENCCIA and TRAVERSE projects, which received a total of EUR 8.81 million in support.

More here.

Stem cell breakthrough, the EU way

Thu, 3 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

EU-funded researchers have developed a breakthrough method for culturing large quantities of human embryonic stem (ES) cells under completely chemically controlled conditions without the need for other cells or animal substances.

Researchers at Sweden's Karolinska Institutet, led by Professor Karl Tryggvason, teamed up with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute in the US in this pioneering feat that will enable the development of various cell types to be used for disease treatment.

More here.

Digital Agenda for Europe - Survey

Thu, 3 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

On 19 May the European Commission launched the Digital Agenda for Europe, an ambitious action plan for a digital economy.

The Digital Agenda will contribute significantly to the EU's economic growth and spread the benefits of the digital era to all sections of society.

The Digital Agenda for Europe proposes a number of collective actions which must start now and continue over the next decade if we are to make "every European digital" -a digitally-empowered individual, with secure online rights and privacy protection, equipped to benefit from a vibrant and integrated digital EU market-place.

Making this happen will require the active involvement of national, regional and local actors from all parts of society: government and business, citizen groups in all sectors from health and education to transport and energy, thinkers and - above all - doers.

If you believe that you and the organisation in which you work or cooperate have a stake in the digital future, now is the time for action. If you decide to do something, anything that supports the many important goals set out in the Digital Agenda, then we would like to ask you to register your intentions here.

The European Commission office in each country will be holding at least one session on the Digital Agenda for Europe. The information provided will allow them to better prepare the sessions and shape them according to your interests.

Chameleon particle caught in the act

Thu, 3 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Physicists working at the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) in Italy have solved a long-standing puzzle in particle physics.

After three years of experiments using an intense muon neutrino beam, they have caught an elementary particle changing from one form to another.

Their discovery helps explain the apparent disappearance of neutrinos on their journey to and through the Earth.

More here.

EU mobile device set to catch homemade bombs

Tue, 1 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A European team of researchers led by the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) is developing a mobile detection system that exposes sites where substances used in terrorist attacks are being produced. Researchers believe the system could ultimately be installed in police vehicles and used during regular patrols as a way of tracking bomb-making activities in urban areas. The device is an outcome of the LOTUS ('Localisation of threat substances in urban society') project, which was funded EUR 4.3 million under the Security Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) to create a system to detect illicit production of explosives and drugs.

More here.

Well, just how innovative are we?

Tue, 1 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

How can European innovation be measured? This is the overarching question to be tackled by a group of prominent business innovators and economists put together by Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, the European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science. The right measurement indicator would help track Europe's progress on its quest to become a more innovative economy.

More here.

Safe transfer for waste storage

Tue, 1 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Industrial prototypes were developed for the underground transportation of radioactive waste canisters and very heavy loads, including prefabricated buffers and extra large containers.

National radioactive waste management agencies and research organisations from across Europe joined together to design a repository for radioactive waste. The 'Engineering studies and demonstrations of repository designs' (Esdred) project involved 13 partners from 8 EU Member States and Switzerland.

Thu, 27 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Eurostars
The Eurostars programme, which encourages SMEs involved in research and development (R&D), will be taking submissions for applications until 25 September.

Eurostars has a number of eligibility criteria but the rewards are exciting, as Anis Mourad of Enterprise Europe Scotland explains: “UK participants are entitled to a maximum grant level of EUR 300,000 provided they are a R&D-performing SME and are the lead partner in a scheme which has at least two participants from two different participating countries.”

Projects can address any technological area and should be aimed at the development of a new product, process or service.

Eco-innovation rewards
Also running until September is the EUR35m Eco-Innovation fund. This programme aims to tackle barriers to market penetration which some companies may have encountered. The fund is geared towards organisations that have developed an environmental product, service, management practice or process which has a proven track record, yet is not fully marketed due to residual risks.

“As with most of these European funding programmes, the overall ambition is to discover that innovative idea which will become a future European success,” says Anis. “SMEs are encouraged to go for this one, particularly if they are involved in recycling, sustainable building products, the greening of business and the food and drink sector.”

Intelligent Energy Europe
Another carbon-busting scheme is the Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) programme. This scheme funds projects dedicated to finding ways of saving energy and encouraging the use of renewable energy sources across Europe. “This is specifically related to exchanging experience, education, training, awareness raising, information provision and market development and intelligence,” Anis continues. “If your project concerns energy efficiency in buildings and transport and new energy sources, IEE could be perfect.”

The closing date for this is 24 June so interested applicants are advised to contact Anis as soon as possible.

On a completely different plain is a project which strives to enhance the quality of life of older people and strengthen the industrial base in Europe through the use of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies), namely the Ambient Assisted Living initiative.

“UK participants can win up to £1.1m thanks to this scheme,” explains Anis. “NHS Trusts, charities and foundations, local authorities and businesses are very much in the frame for this. The maximum grant level per participant is EUR 400,000 and projects must feature at least bodies from three participating countries.”

Anyone interested in any of the above, or indeed any European funding opportunities, can email Anis or call him on 0141 228 2522.

Come along to Highland Opportunity Road Shows 2010

Thu, 27 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Get connected...
Meet up with budding entrepreneurs, local businesses, and local business support organisations in your area. The events will feature a mini trade fair where businesses can showcase local products and services. Stands are limited and will be given on a first come, first served basis.

This is a fantastic opportunity to show what your business has to offer and interact with other businesses to see how you can work together. You’ll also be able to sample and enjoy the area’s food and drink while listening to a local musician.

Be inspired...
Share experiences and find out more about the range of support available to start and grow your business. Join in our Question Time session facilitated by STV's Nicola McAlley and put your questions to a panel of experts from Business Gateway, Enterprise Europe Scotland and local businesses who have valuable experience on a regional, national and international level.

Grow…
Share ideas and experiences with other businesses and take the opportunity to speak on a one-to-one basis with advisers from Business Gateway and Enterprise Europe Scotland.

Michelle Wemyss, based at Enterprise Europe Scotland’s office in Inverness is keen to encourage local businesses to make the most of these exciting events, no matter which sector they work in. Explains Michelle: “It would be helpful if you do have some understanding of our services before we meet so you can make the most of your time. I’d recommend people have a look at the Enterprise Europe Scotland and Business Gateway websites in advance.”

These sessions are designed for anyone who is in interested or in the process of starting and growing a business. Adds Michelle: “The events are free of charge – come along… get connected… and be inspired to grow your business!”

Please visit www.bgateway.com and www.enterprise-europe-scotland.com or call 01463 715400 for more information.

Dates:

Dornoch Thursday 17 June 2010

Wick Thursday 24 June 2010

For further information contact Michelle Wemyss on 01463 715400, email michelle.wemyss@highland-opportunity.com

Please visit www.bgateway.com and www.enterprise-europe-scotland.com or call 01463 715400 for more information.

Can a single, cheap pill combat cardiovascular disease?

Wed, 19 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Volunteers are being recruited in Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK to participate in a two-year trial of a single 'polypill' designed to prevent heart attack and stroke.

The trials are financed in part by the UMPIRE ('Use of a multidrug pill in reducing cardiovascular events') project, which has received EUR 3 million under the Health Theme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

More here.

Erasmus young entrepreneurs call for proposals

Wed, 19 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The overall objective of the preparatory action is to enhance the entrepreneurship, internationalisation and competitiveness of potential start-up entrepreneurs and newly established micro and small enterprises in the EU. The programme is intended for people setting up a business and recently established entrepreneurs.

The call comprises two lots with two types of activity:
Lot 1: intermediary organisations enhancing and facilitating the mobility of nascent entrepreneurs.
Lot 2: Support to, coordination and networking of intermediary organisations carrying out the activities mentioned above.

More here.

Mon, 17 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

IMI has published its 'Annual Implementation Plan for 2010'. This document complements the scientific priorities and gives further information on the governance of IMI, the implementation of future calls and the external communication activities that will be carried out. This is available here.

Also published is its 'Annual Activity Report', which summarises the main achievements of 2009. This is available here.

Finally, IMI has published an open statement to all stakeholders reiterating the support of EFPIA members to the initiative in light of some questions and concerns from stakeholders due to the current economic climate and restructuring plans in the pharmaceutical industry. This is available here

The main IMI web site is here.

Wed, 12 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Scientists at Imperial College London in the UK have received advanced investigator grants from the European Research Council (ERC) totalling more than EUR 7.5 million. The prestigious awards will be used by Professor Tim Coulson, Dr Serafim Kalliadasis, Professor Russell Cowburn and Professor Simon Donaldson to carry out frontier research in physics, mathematics, biology and engineering.

More here.

EU project makes breakthrough in short-haul transceiver technology

Wed, 12 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

An EU-funded project is providing telecommunications (telecoms) operators with a simpler way of upgrading optical telecoms networks directly to 100 gigabit Ethernet (GbE). Trials of the technology developed in the HECTO ('High-speed electro-optical components for integrated transmitter and receiver in optical communications') project have demonstrated that 100GbE networks can be deployed in a simpler capacity than before. The project was funded to the tune of EUR 2.36 million under the 'Information society technologies' Thematic area of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).

More here.

Nutrition in early years key to later health, EU-funded study shows

Mon, 10 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

EU-funded research is revealing how nutrition in the womb and during our early years affects our risk of obesity, heart disease, lung disease and behavioural and cognitive problems in later years. Crucially, scientists from the EARNEST ('Early nutrition programming') project have already translated many of their research findings into practical advice.

EARNEST, which is just drawing to a close, received EUR 13.4 million from the EU under the 'Food quality and safety' Thematic area of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6). The project partners are presenting their findings at a conference in Munich, Germany, on 6-8 May.

More here.

Europeans target better health services for sub-Saharan Africa

Mon, 10 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

People living in sub-Saharan Africa continue to feel the pressure of increasing poverty and morbidity (incidence of specific diseases). Teenagers in particular are at risk of reproductive health problems, and now a new EU-funded project is set to address this problem by investigating the effectiveness of existing programmes and identifying the structural drivers that restrict access to adolescent reproductive health (ARH) services in Niger and Tanzania.

The INTHEC ('Health, education and community integration: evidence based strategies to increase equity, integration and effectiveness of reproductive health services for poor communities in sub-Saharan Africa') project has received EUR 2.75 million in funding under the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

More here.

Commission puts ITER funding in spotlight

Fri, 7 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The European Commission on 5 May adopted a communication justifying the creation of a sustainable financial framework for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). EU Member States should provide financial support to the facility, whose expenditure is EUR 4.5 billion more than the initial EUR 2.7 billion planned, the European Commission said.

In a memo, the Commission explained that the financial support earmarked by Member States for the project's lifespan plus a mechanism for managing any additional overruns should be agreed, subject to an overall cap.

More here.

ICT research: ENIAC nanoelectronics Joint Technology Initiative enhanced

Fri, 7 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The European Commission has granted autonomy to the ENIAC Joint Undertaking, a body created by the EU's Council of Ministers to bring together European research in nanoelectronics.

This is a major step forward because it marks the real beginning of a balanced and innovative public-private partnership in which industry, Member States and the Commission aim for industrial excellence and a significant impact on the economy.

The European Nanoelectronics Initiative Advisory Council (ENIAC) will implement a budget for research of up to EUR 3 billion over ten years, giving it critical mass on a global scale. ENIAC will foster research and development collaboration between stakeholders such as industry, public authorities, academia and research centres inter alia by effective coordination of resources and funding from EU, industry, national and intergovernmental R&D programmes.

Nanoelectronic parts are very widely used, often almost unnoticed, to improve the performance, energy efficiency and functionalities of many kinds of machines ranging from cars, planes and phones, to factories, washing machines and televisions.

More here

Scientists climb the quantum ladder

Fri, 7 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

An EU-funded team of scientists from Cardiff University in the UK has successfully fired photons (light particles) into a small tower of semiconducting material.

The work could eventually lead to the development of faster computers. The research is an outcome of the CUSMEQ ('Coherent ultra-fast spectroscopy and manipulation of excitonic Q-bits') project, funded under the People Programme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) with support totalling almost EUR 179,000.

CUSMEQ investigated the coherent, ultra-fast spectroscopy and manipulation of individual excitonic states confined within a semiconductor quantum dot. The results of the study were recently presented in the journal Nature Materials.

More here

FP7 Projects Launch New Web Portal for EU-US cooperation in science and technology.

Fri, 7 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Two new FP7 projects, BILAT-USA and Link2US have launched a new web portal to be used as the main information platform on EU-US cooperation in science and technology.

The objective of these projects is to enhance EU-US science and technology cooperation through information sharing and network formation among the different stakeholders on both sides of the Atlantic.

The outcome of these activities will contribute to overcoming barriers to cooperation, developing cooperative research policies and topics, and formulating respective FP7 programmes.

Thu, 6 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

An EU-funded project has successfully installed a dedicated solar plant to cool perishables in a Tunisian winery and a Moroccan dairy, demonstrating the economic sustainability of solar-driven refrigeration. The thermally driven cooling concept could substantially benefit the food and agriculture industry in the Mediterranean region.

The technology was developed and implemented by the MEDISCO ('Mediterranean food and agro industry applications of solar cooling technologies') project, which was financed with EUR 1.4 million under the International Cooperation budget line of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).

More here.

New EU-funded project to save lives following disasters

Thu, 6 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A new EU-funded project is developing a system that will save lives and mitigate damage to property and the environment in the aftermath of disasters.

The two-year project is called GEO-PICTURES ('GMES [Global Monitoring for Environment and Security] and Earth observation with position-based image and sensor communications technology for universal rescue, emergency and surveillance management'), and EUR 2.4 million of its EUR 3.2 million budget comes from the Space Theme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

The project includes potential users of the system, experts in satellite communications, image compression, environmental research and providers of GMES services.

More here.

A quantum leap for cryptography

Wed, 5 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

An international team of researchers has found a way to make random numbers truly random.

To create random number lists for encryption purposes, cryptographers usually use mathematical algorithms called 'pseudo random number generators'. But these are never entirely 'random' as the creators cannot be certain that any sequence of numbers isn't predictable in some way.

Now a team of experimental physicists has made a breakthrough in random number generation by applying the principles of quantum mechanics to produce a string of numbers that is truly random.

The project was supported by the EU through European Research Council (ERC) and the 'Information society technologies' Thematic area of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).

More here

New laser technique raises prospects of rain on demand

Wed, 5 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A team of researchers from France, Germany and Switzerland has used a laser technique to trigger rain in the free atmosphere.

The technique, details of which are published in the journal Nature Photonics, may be used to study the creation of droplets in clouds, and could even offer a new way to open up the heavens.

More here.

Simple process puts proteins in their place

Wed, 5 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

EU-funded scientists have revealed the simple trick that ensures that proteins are correctly distributed within cells.

Their discovery could lead to the development of new treatments for cancer.

More here.

Call for proposals for pilot projects on development of prevention activities to halt desertification in Europe

Tue, 4 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The Directorate-General for Environment is launching a call for proposals with the aim of identifying three to five projects eligible for financial support, promoting action on desertification and droughts in pilot river basins, and contributing to the exchange of best practices at the local level on four issues, such as conservation of rainwater and surface water, alternative forms of irrigation, water saving/water efficiency measures and crops consuming less water.

The pilot projects are demonstration projects aimed at testing specially designed technologies, techniques or practices. They will have to demonstrate the potential of water saving for improving human and environmental conditions in different regions of the European Union, using low-cost approaches.

More here.

New roadmaps for two Public Private Partnerships (PPPs)

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Two of the new Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) have produced roadmaps setting out the long-term direction of their research priorities.

The roadmaps are for the Energy Efficient Buildings (EEB) and Factories of the Future (FoF) PPPs.

The PPPs themselves have been launched by the European Commission as a response to the economic crisis. The construction and manufacturing sectors were both hit particularly hard by global events. Both of the roadmaps have been produced by the industry leaders for the PPPs, following consultations with stakeholders.

As the topics for these two PPPs are implemented through Calls in the FP7 Co-operation programme, these roadmaps provide a good indicator of the future direction of some of the FP7 themes particularly Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and New Production (NMP) and Energy themes, which have most relevance to construction and manufacturing.

The Energy Efficient Buildings roadmap is available here.
The Factories of the Future roadmap is available here.
The website on PPPs, which includes links to both EEB and Factories of the Future, is available here.

ICT and Ageing - European Study on Users, Markets and Technologies

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

As highlighted in the European Commission's Action Plan on Ageing Well in the Information Society, the market of ICT for ageing well in the information society is still in its nascent phase, and does not yet fully ensure the availability and take-up of the necessary ICT-enabled solutions.

The 'ICT & Ageing' study was launched by the Commission in the beginning of 2008. The main goal was to identify and understand the market barriers which currently hinder uptake of ICT for independent living and active ageing in Europe.

For the first time, the study looks into the situation prevailing in 14 EU Member States, the USA and Japan with regard to the deployment situation of relevant ICTs and policy/market response respectively. It also identifies and analyses good practice and show how Europe can learn from the experience in individual countries.

More here.

3rd Call - deadline reminder - 30th July - ICT-based Solutions for Advancement of Older Persons� Independence and Participation in the �Self-Serve Society� Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) Call 3 published

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) Joint Programme is a joint research and development funding programme implemented by 20 European Member States and 3 Associated States.

The programme receives a substantial financial support - based on article 169 of the EC treaty - from the European Commission.

The AAL CALL 3: ICT-based Solutions for Advancement of Older Persons’ Independence and Participation in the “Self-Serve Society” is now published and has a closing date of 30th July 2010.

Call details are here.

Your key contact for help and support is Graham Mobbs, European Operations Manager, Technology Strategy Board . Graham's contact details : switchboard +44 1793 442700 , direct +44 (0) 1793 442763, email graham.mobbs@tsb.gov.uk

Web science experts join forces to shape Net's future

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A network of international, world-class web researchers has created an alliance to support research and education programmes into web science.

The Web Science Trust Network of Laboratories (WSTNet) will count some of the leading academic researchers in web science among its members and will help enhance the growing influence of the Web.

More here.

On the right path in genomics research

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

EU-funded researchers are shedding new light on the highly complex mechanisms controlling the activity of our genes.

The results will help take the potential of genomics a step further with new ways of identifying the regulators controlling specific genes.

The project is funded with EUR 1.48 million under the Information society technologies Thematic area of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).

More here.

Commission creates two new Directorates-General for Energy and Climate Action

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The Commission has made a number of organisational changes following the appointment of the new Commissioners. Two new Directorates-General have been created, DG Energy (ENER) and DG Climate Action (CLIM).

The Energy DG consists of the departments in the former Transport and Energy DG dealing with energy issues and of the Task Force Energy which will be transferred from the External Relations DG. The Director-General will be Philip Lowe, a British national, currently Director-General in DG Competition. The departments responsible for transport policy will remain in the renamed Mobility and Transport DG (MOVE).

The Climate Action DG will be created from the relevant activities in DG Environment, the activities in the External Relations DG related to international negotiations on climate change and the activities in the Enterprise and Industry DG related to climate change. More information can be found here.

Commission to boost research and innovation by making it easier to apply for and manage EU grants

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The European Commission has unveiled a plan to simplify the procedures for taking part in EU-funded research projects.

The overall aim is to make participation transparent and attractive to the best researchers and innovative companies in Europe and beyond.

Ensuring European research realises its full potential is crucial to the EU's Europe 2020 Strategy, given the need to consolidate economic recovery and develop new sources of growth and jobs to replace those lost in the crisis.

Complementing the proposals on simplification, the Commission has also appointed a group of independent experts to review all aspects of the current Seventh Framework Programme.

More here.

Energie Helpline team support services for the IEE call deadline 24th June 2010.

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Please find below details of the support services that the Energie Helpline team will be providing to those UK organisations that are preparing a proposal for the IEE Call deadline of 24th June 2010.

Pre-proposal check service - The Commission pre-proposal check service is open until 21st May. This allows you to submit a summary of your proposal to check that your proposal idea is in principle eligible for IEE funding. Information on how to access the service can be found here.

We would encourage you to submit your proposal ideas to the Energie Helpline team for initial review so that they can be refined as much as possible to make the most of the Commission service.

Helpline online support – Online support sessions will take place as and when required before the deadline. The online support sessions will provide you with a comprehensive and interactive presentation on key aspects of the proposal preparation and submission process. We will be posting details of dates and times for the sessions.

Proposal clinics – the Energie Helpline team will be holding proposal clinics (one to one meetings of 1 hour with a member of the Helpline team to discuss your proposal) on the following dates:

• Tuesday 11th May – Manchester
• Thursday 13th May – London
• Tuesday 25th May – Manchester
• Thursday 27th May - London

Please register your interest in attending a clinic session by sending a proposal summary to energie@enviros.com and indicating which date you would be available to attend a clinic. The Energie Helpline team will then allocate the sessions and inform you of the time for your meeting.

Please let the Energie Helpline team know if you would like to attend a clinic session but are unable to attend on these dates in these locations as we will try to accommodate you on alternative dates or at other locations if this can be arranged.

Proposal review – the Energie Helpline team will be offering a proposal review service between Monday 7th June and the proposal deadline. Please reply to this email to let us know if you anticipate that you would like us to review your proposal so that we can keep a note of how many proposals to expect.

Please contact the Helpline with any questions on IEE.

Energie Helpline UK
T - 0161 874 3636
F - 0161 848 0181
E - energie@enviros.com
www.energiehelpline.co.uk

Creature alive and kicking sans oxygen

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

New EU-funded research has found they can. Scientists recently discovered the planet's first multicellular organisms capable of surviving and reproducing in a 100% oxygen-free environment.

The creatures, found deep on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea, subsist in an environment that has no oxygen but is rich in toxic sulphides. The scientists said the multicellular organisms, which are members of the Loricifera group, are not only alive, but metabolically active and even capable of reproducing.

The results are part of two EU-funded projects, which received EUR 15.56 million and EUR 8 million under the Sixth and Seventh Framework Programmes (FP6 and FP7) respectively.

More here.

EU-funded transporter protein study delivers a world first

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A team of EU-funded researchers has become the first in the world to work out the structure of a transporter protein in all three main structural states.

Transporter proteins are responsible for ferrying substances into and out of cells and the new findings, published in the journal Science, could lead to new drugs for a range of diseases and disorders.

The project was supported thorugh 'Life sciences, genomics and biotechnology for health' Thematic area of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) and the Health Theme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

More here.

Home help robot will give the elderly independence

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A new EU-funded project will build an intelligent robot that operates in a 'smart home' to help elderly people secure a better quality of life and allow them to live independently for as long as possible.

The team says that the robot will be a 'sensible family friend' that will help elderly patients make the right decisions.

The project is supported by the 'Information and communications technologies' (ICT) Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

More here.

New web portal to target EU-US S&T synergies

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

International cooperation is the cornerstone of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), and the BILAT-USA and Link2US projects, which are funded under FP7's Capacities programme, are making major headway in fostering research synergies between the EU and US.

BILAT-USA and Link2US have now launched a new web portal offering the latest information on joint EU-US activities and initiatives, as well as key documents and overviews that will advance transatlantic research cooperation.

More here.

Copycat is best strategy of all, bar none

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Can a copycat strategy be a good thing? New EU-funded research sheds light on why imitating others is not only natural, but profitable too.

Culture has evolved and persisted because of people's ability to learn from their peers. The question, however, is to determine how people learn socially. Some learn by copying the behaviours of others, while some base their decision on whether or not to copy on the status of the individual.

The project received EUR 2 million under the FP6 'New and emerging science and technology' (NEST) Cross-cutting activity to investigate how human culture evolves, for example by exploring how people develop new behaviours.

More here.

Boosting the environmental return on glass recycling

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The MEIGLASS Life project developed an innovative process for recovering greater amounts of quality glass from broken or waste glass returned for recycling with less energy use.

When using recycled glass, the glass-container industry requires ‘oven-ready’ cullet – broken or waste glass – free from all contaminating substances such as ceramics, chinaware, stones, plastics or organic matter.

This project has developed an improved method of processing glass from different sources, improving the yield and reducing the amount that is unusable.

The three-year MEIGLASS projects had a total budget of €6 million of which €1.3 million came from the EU Life programme.

More here.

How pressure to publish impacts research quality

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

New EU-funded research shows that the ever-growing pressure to produce publishable results can adversely impact the quality of scientific research.

Researchers worldwide produce more than 1.4 million scientific articles each year. By investigating over 1,300 papers from disciplines ranging from physics to sociology that declared to have tested a hypothesis, Dr Daniele Fanelli of the University of Edinburgh in the UK found that researchers report more 'positive' results for their experiments if they are based in US states where academics publish more frequently.

The project received more than EUR 161,000 under the People Specific Programme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

More here.

Call for contributions for the Ambient Assisted Living Forum - deadline 18 May

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The Ambient Assisted Living Forum (AAL Forum) 2010 wil present innovative solutions to tackle the challenges inherent to our ageing societies. It aims to provide both a physical meeting platform, supported by an advanced web 2.0 social media platform for all stakeholders - investors, researchers, policy makers, industry providers and end-users - to discuss and share smart solutions for an improved quality of life in later years.

Details of the call for contributions can be found here.

Removing barriers to eco-innovation SMEs

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Eco-innovation SMEs can help Europe bridge the gap between economic growth and environmental sustainability. However, existing barriers hampering their development must first be removed.

Eco-innovation represents more than just a tool to address environmental problems. It is also vital for economic competitiveness, job creation and wealth. As Europe strives to achieve environmentally sustainable economic growth, the role of eco-innovation becomes all the more important. – as does that of the many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) involved.

More here.