The European Investment Bank (EIB) is to provide a 400 million euro eight year loan facility to the Swedish telecommunications equipment manufacturer Ericsson for research and development (R&D) activities in its centres of excellence in the EU and central Europe. Through its R&D activities, Ericsson has contributed towards to definition of global technology standards and the development of the telecommunications sector in Europe into one of its leading industries.

New eEurope Initiative for SMEs A new eEurope initiative - the Euro Info Centres' (EIC) e-business campaign - has been launched to help SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) get involved in e-commerce. The e-business campaign, part of the EIC business support network, has been launched under the 'GoDigital' action of the European Commission's eEurope programme.