Brussels, 20/10/2006 (Agence Europe) - British Conservative MEP Richard Ashworth is highly sceptical about the utility of the mooted European Technology Institute (ETI), details of which are starting to emerge (see EUROPE 9289). He says the idea looks brilliant but would simply create mammoth bureaucracy to rival the current Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Europe would be better off focussing on improving university research capacity: 'Without private sector support, the Institute cannot be as ambitious as it needs to be without seriously undermining the competitiveness of our universities. The Commission should be building on the centres of excellence that already exist but are invariably under-funded, rather than starting out on a completely fresh initiative.' (il)