The EU aims to be in the lead in the key technology markets of the future; a €7 billion grant is being allocated to research and innovation in order to support activities that help bridge the gap between research and the market and that develop new technologies which have commercial potential or can work on a sufficiently large scale to be industrially viable.
Special attention will be given to SMEs, that is, 99% of all European businesses of the EU, by means of newly simplified rules and an investment package of almost €1 billion which includes pilot schemes both within the Health theme and through the European Investment Bank’s 'Risk-Sharing Finance Facility for SMEs.' Other projects include the establishment of a new EU Prize for Women Innovators.
