The European Parliament backs the Commission's proposal to set up a European Institute of Technology in its first-reading report adopted today by large majority. However, MEPs want the EIT's name to include "innovation" and say it should be established only after a pilot phase in which two or three "Knowledge and Innovation Communities" run projects, to test its feasibility. MEPs also want the Council to negotiate the EIT's funding with Parliament.

The landmark anti-trust decision against US software giant Microsoft has been welcomed as a good deal for consumers by several MEPs. On Monday the EU's Court of First Instance upheld a 2004 ruling in the long running case brought by the European Commission. The crux of the ruling was that Microsoft had unfairly used its 90% share of the software industry. One MEP told us the decision strengthened "the right and freedom of consumers to choose the best and most innovative products".