Working for the govenment plan - As the EU´s Seventh Framework Programme grinds into action, we look at what it means and the key projects that will involve developments in the electronics and embedded systems environment

If the European Union has its way, 2007 will be a momentous year for research and development in Europe. It sees the start of the so-called Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), a six-year plan intended to move Europe towards the establishment of a knowledge-based economy. A key part of that policy is an effort, already under way to bring together industry academia and national and regional government to improve Europe´s level of R&D investment, guided by what are known as European Technology Platforms (ETPs)