Additional tools
Research and Innovation
Seventh Framework Programme: Building the Europe of Knowledge
At the heart of the Lisbon Strategy, research is a component of a knowledge
triangle (the other two being education and innovation) meant to boost growth
and employment in the European Union (EU) in the context of a global economy.
The 7th Framework Programme for Research, covering the period 2007 to 2013, is
an opportunity for the EU to match its research policy to its ambitions in
terms of economic and social policy by consolidating the European Research Area
(ERA). In order to achieve this objective, the Commission hopes to increase the
EU's annual spending on research, thereby generating more national and private
investment in this field. When it is implemented, the 7th Framework Programme
will also have to respond to the research and knowledge needs of industry and
more generally of EU policies. The Framework Programme is organised around four
main programmes and has been greatly simplified so as to be more effective and
more accessible to researchers.
The objective of transport research under FP7 is to develop safer, ’greener‘
and ’smarter‘ pan-European transport systems that will benefit all citizens,
respect the environment, and increase the competitiveness of European
industries in the global market.
The total budget for Transport (including Aeronautics) is € 4.1 billion. Most of the budget of each year is used to support research, technological development and demonstration projects resulting from the annual Calls for Proposals.