The Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) will be more inclusive for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) than its predecessors, Janez Potocnik, EU Commissioner for Science and Research, assured participants attending a conference on SME participation in the Framework Programme in Kortrijk, Belgium, on 23 May.
SMEs are vital to the European economy, with approximately 25 million of them accounting for close to two-thirds of Europe's employment and GDP.