More on FP7 on CORDIS

While the FP7 proposals still have to be approved by the European Parliament and the European Council, the programme is scheduled to start at the beginning of 2007, so potential participants are already interested in knowing more practical information.

With this in mind, the service now includes a 'Participation' section, outlining some of the proposed requirements and procedures for obtaining funding under FP7. It should be noted that this information is based on the European Commission's proposals for Specific Programmes and Rules for Participation and these have yet to be approved by the other EU institutions.

FP7 is just one element of the EU's strategy to deliver the Lisbon goals of making Europe the world's most competitive, knowledge-based economy. A new 'Related to FP7' section summarises some of the other initiatives, such as the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP), the proposed European Institute of Technology (EIT) and i2010.

A new FP7 Library provides search tools for users to consult any of the official documents published on FP7 and some of these related initiatives, so far. An outline of the latest available budget breakdown is also online.

Looking ahead, the homepage now includes a 'What's Next' information box which pinpoints the next steps towards implementation of the programme, while the major FP7 launch event 'Today is the Future', taking place in Brussels in March 2007, is also highlighted and linked.

The news and events on the CORDIS Towards FP7 homepage are updated on a daily basis. While the Towards FP7 service is currently published in English only, translations of these items in the other five CORDIS official languages are available via the CORDIS News service.

For more information on FP7, please see:
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/home.html