Press Release: European Commission and industry to invest € 3.2 billion in economic recovery for a stronger, greener and more competitive economy tomorrow

On 13 July, 2009, the European Commission and industry announced the first round of research calls for proposals injecting €268million in three key market areas in order to trigger economic recovery and make it more sustainable and knowledge-based. A total of €3.2 billion has been earmarked for European public-private partnerships (PPPs) dedicated to develop new technologies in manufacturing, construction and the automotive sectors. These collaborations between the Commission and the industry will foster global competitiveness for European businesses, bring down the excessive energy consumption of Europe's buildings that make up one-third of EU CO 2 emissions, and develop new and sustainable forms of road transport. The three planned partnerships were part of the Commission's European Economy Recovery Plan endorsed by the European Council on December 2008 aiming to promote the convergence of public interest and industry commitment for research.

European Commission: SPEECH/09/338: Keeping us on the path to a green and sustainable recovery http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/09/338&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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