They are called “Joint Technological Initiatives (JTI)”, and are the two new platforms adopted by the European Commission for the establishment of the first European public-private partnerships between European Union, member states and businesses for investments in research and development aimed at promoting growth and employment at the Community level. The first initiative, ARTEMIS, concerns so-called incorporated IT systems or invisible computers, the chips that make all modern machines work (from airplanes to domestic appliances, from telephones to energy networks), and that on the basis of the latest estimates will total 16 billion units in the world by 2010 and a staggering 40 billion by 2020. The second JTI, Initiative for Innovative Drugs, “will support the development of new know-how, new instruments and new methods for the more rapid development of new and safer drugs”. As for the ARTEMIS research project, the budget amounts to 2.7 billion euros for the period 2007-2013, of which 60% comes from firms, 15% from the Commission and the remaining 25% from member states. The Initiative for Innovative Drugs benefits from a budget of 2 billion Euros: one billion, funded by the EU, is ring-fenced for small and medium firms and for universities. The other billion will be invested directly by big business in research projects open to small and medium firms and universities. After the entry into force of the first two JTI, the EU is planning to adopt another series in the sectors of nano-technologies, aeronautics and air transport, hydrogen and fuel cells.
