The European Commission announced today the final and biggest ever set of calls for proposals for research under its Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). €8.1 billion will be dedicated in investment in research and innovation to create growth and jobs. This amount
is expected to leverage an additional €6 billion of public and private investment in research, and estimated to increase employment by 210,000 in the short-term and generate, over a 15 year period, an additional €75 billion in growth. Special attention will be given to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in a package worth up to €1.2 billion. EUREKA follows closely these developments especially as regards the Eurostars programme (European Joint Programme dedicated to the R&D performing SMEs, and co-funded by the European Communities and 33 EUREKA member countries), and its successor in Horizon 2020.