These involve mainly industry, but also research institutes and universities across Europe, and use advanced technologies which result in innovative products, processes and services for civilian purposes. In addition, organisations from five more countries, where national information points have been set up, also participate in projects - Albania, Bulgaria, Estonia, the Slovak Republic and the Ukraine. The results made it possible to set a single GSM standard, which is now used by more than 230 telecommunications operators in some 110 countries, including the United States. See page 24 for contact co-ordinates. The network's chairman is the main initiator and organiser of activities and events.
Representatives meet to set out the political guidelines and announce new projects.
Each member country also appoints a representative to the High Level Group which meets three or four times a year to examine new projects and formulate general policy. Ongoing projects cover research into the technologies of communications, energy, environment, information, lasers, materials, transport, plus robotics and production automation, and medicine and biotechnology. To date, some 670 projects are under way, at an estimated cost of 2.45 billion euro. One of the network's major attractions is its non-bureaucratic approach. For contact co-ordinates .