EUROPEAN PROJECT Competitors

The Commission represents and upholds the interests of the EU as a whole, and is independent of national governments. The European Commission prepares legislation for adoption by the Council (representing the member countries) and the Parliament (representing the citizens). It administers the budget and the policy programmes (agriculture, fisheries, research etc.) in cooperation with authorities in the member countries. Visit http://www.europa.eu/ if you want to learn more about the EU, or call the free service number 00 800 6789 10 11 from anywhere in the EU, they speak all 24 official languages. Disclaimer: The European Commission is working to ensure that social networks respect the highest standards of data protection. All users of social networks should be particularly careful about how they disclose their personal information and about how it may be used by third parties and the social network themselves. The presence of the European Commission on LinkedIn does not mean that we endorse or in any way agree with the privacy policy or practices of this professional social media network. Read more about our social media policy → europa.eu/!dyJq74

We provide finance and expertise for sustainable investment projects that contribute to EU policy objectives and make a strong impact on people’s lives in Europe and beyond. The EU's bank The EIB is the European Union's bank. We are the only bank owned by and representing the interests of the European Union Member States. We work closely with other EU institutions to implement EU policy. A major player As the largest multilateral borrower and lender by volume, we provide finance and expertise for sound and sustainable investment projects which contribute to furthering EU policy objectives. More than 90% of our activity is focused on Europe but we also implement the financial aspects of the EU's external and development policies. Lending, blending and advising Lending: The vast majority of our financing is through loans, but we also offer guarantees, microfinance, equity investment, etc. Blending: Our support helps us unlock financing from other sources, particularly from the EU budget. This is blended together to form the full financing package. Advising: Lack of finance is often only one barrier to investment. We can help with administrative and project management capacity which facilitates investment implementation.

The Science and Technology Facilities Council is keeping the UK at the forefront of international science and tackling some of the most significant challenges facing society such as meeting our future energy needs, monitoring and understanding climate change, and global security. The Council has a broad science portfolio and works with the academic and industrial communities to share its expertise in materials science, space and ground-based astronomy technologies, laser science, microelectronics, wafer scale manufacturing, particle and nuclear physics, alternative energy production, radio communications and radar. STFC has 5 main UK sites: Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL), Daresbury Laboratory (DL), UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UKATC), Chilbolton Observatory and Boulby Underground Laboratory. STFC operates or hosts world class experimental facilities including: • In the UK; ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, the Central Laser Facility and RAL Space. STFC is also the majority shareholder in Diamond Light Source Ltd. • Overseas; telescopes on La Palma and Hawaii STFC enables UK researchers to access leading international science facilities by funding membership of international bodies including European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), the Institut Laue Langevin (ILL), European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO). STFC is one of seven publicly-funded research councils and is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). It is an independent, non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).