Brussels, 11/05/2010 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has granted autonomy to the ENIAC joint undertaking, a body created by the EU's Council of Ministers to take forward European research in nanoelectronics. The European Nanoelectronics Initiative Advisory Council (ENIAC) will autonomously implement a research budget of up to €3 billion over ten years. “ENIAC is on track to bring nanotechnology research closer to the market's needs and to deliver the advanced electronic systems that are vital to Europe's growth and competitiveness”, said Neelie Kroes, Digital Agenda Commissioner. “I call on industry and national governments to pool their resources in ENIAC as foreseen because only a pan-European initiative like this gives us the critical mass needed to have a real impact”, she added. Since February 2008, ENIAC has been instrumental in launching 18 large projects in a variety of fields. For example, a total of €44 million have been invested in a project called E3Car, which targets efficiency improvements across various components of electric cars, seeking to make Europe a global leader in the electric vehicles of the future. (B.C./transl.jl)