Croatia, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are now eligible to compete on an equal footing with EU Member States in the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), following the signature of Memoranda of Understanding with the European Commission. A similar agreement was also recently signed between Turkey and the Commission.

In gaining 'associated status', the signatory countries will now be able to participate in all the FP7 calls for proposals, including those opened since the beginning of the year.

A new technology from the European research project PalCom makes rehabilitation more effective and enjoyable for children with motor or cognitive impairments. The prototype, developed in collaboration with an Italian hospital, is a set of interactive tiles used during swimming pool therapy.

One of the outcomes of the European research project PalCom is a new technology for rehabilitation children with Down's syndrome, autism or other kinds of physical and cognitive impairment.

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt today unveiled a new website, NHS Choices, which aims to personalise healthcare and provide information that will allow patients to make meaningful choices about when and where to receive their treatment.

NHS Choices is an information service fit for the 21st century - a resource that gives patients authoritative medical information and enables patients and carers to make better, more informed choices about their health and wellbeing.

Submission Deadline: September 15, 2007
"Biomedical Knowledge Management: Infrastructures and Processes for E-Health Systems"

A book edited by
Wayne Pease, University of Southern Queensland, Australia,
Prof. Malcolm Cooper, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan, and Assoc. Professor Raj Gururajan, University of Southern Queensland, Australia.

Responding to the needs of Europe's growing ageing population, the Commission has today adopted a European Action Plan for "Ageing Well in the Information Society". This Action Plan is accompanied by a new joint European research programme raising to over €1bn the research investment on information and communications technologies (ICT) targeted at improving the life of older people at home, in the workplace and in society in general. These new EU initiatives will contribute to allowing older Europeans to stay active for longer and live independently.

European Commission presents a new publication on Europe's position in research and innovation. The "Key figures 2007 on Science, Technology and Innovation" shows that R&D intensity (R&D expenditure as % of GDP) in Europe has stagnated since the mid-nineties, while major competitors such as Japan, China or South Korea have been able to increase substantially their R&D effort, shaping a world where knowledge is more evenly distributed than ever before. Moreover, the R&D investment deficit against the US has remained constant over recent years.

ePractice.eu is a portal created by the European Commission which offers a new service for the professional community of eGovernment, eInclusion and eHealth practitioners.

It is an interactive initiative that empowers its users to discuss and influence open government, policy-making and the way in which public administrations operate and deliver services.