International cooperation earmarked to receive €600 million in FP6

The EU's Research Council met in December and reached agreement on the budget for the Sixth Framework Programme for Research. It suggested that the global amount should be €17.5 billion - the same figure as proposed by the European Commission.

The Council's breakdown on how the money should be spent does not depart excessively from the Commission's proposals. The budget must now be ratified by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers.