EZD provides advice to help strengthen EU’s research and development capabilities and raise the competitiveness of related industries.

EZD therefore conducts surveys of EU’s, developed and emerging countries to investigate the development of most advanced information technologies and new information policies.

It’s probably no surprise to you that Europe’s IT, telecommunications and audiovisual industries are important to our future. Taken together, these sectors are now worth around 8% of EU GDP – double the value of the early 1990s – and employ 13 million people.

These important sectors are converging, with century-old barriers disappearing between content and service, and between telephone and TV. New opportunities in areas as diverse as culture and healthcare can flourish in this rapidly changing environment – the rules of the game have certainly changed when you can make a film and distribute it worldwide with your mobile phone, or when superpowerful ‘Grid’ computing allows medical researchers to improve drug design.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are critical everywhere, accounting for 40% of EU productivity growth, driving innovation and creating jobs throughout our economy.

ICTs also save lives every day: in hospitals, on roads and elsewhere. Not to mention the vital role they play in environmental protection, delivering education or cutting red tape.

Want to participate?

You can immediately submit a project idea:

by e-mail; if you’ve still not developed a structured presentation, write us a short description with your contacts which will be examined by our team of National Project Coordinators and we’ll be back in touch with you soon to discuss the opportunity.

or fill in our application form if your project is already matured.

Your input in the great adventure of European market-oriented R&D could be part of tomorrow’s technological success stories!