The Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development, also called Framework Programmes or abbreviated FP1 through FP8, are funding programmes created by the European Union in order to support and encourage research in the European Research Area (ERA). The specific objectives and actions vary between funding periods.

Conducting European research policies and implementing European research programmes is an obligation under the Amsterdam Treaty, which includes a chapter on research and technological development. Since even entire Member States find it increasingly difficult to play a leading role in many important areas of scientific and technological advance, international cooperation is needed.

It was estimated in 2006 that the contribution of € 7 billion/year might generate a GDP increase of € 200 billion/year in the 2030s. Proponents gave the intangible incentive to face the intrinsic complexity of international collaborations. Diversity introduces additional costs, but it facilitates addressing competitors in an even more diverse world. Changes triggered by research policy directly affect people and enterprises, which experience broader horizons and experience the advantages of international collaboration. This complements the institutional activities of the EU, building a community united in diversity capable of facing the challenges of a globalized world.

Vittorio Prodi (born on 19 May 1937 in Reggio Emilia) is an Italian politician and Member of the European Parliament for North-East with the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety.

He is a substitute for the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, a president of the Delegation for relations with South Africa and a substitute for the Delegation for relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council.

He is one of Romano Prodi's six brothers and two sisters

See also: European Parliament election, 2004 (Italy)

Patrizia Toia (born on 17 March 1950 in Pogliano Milanese) is an Italian politician and Member of the European Parliament for North-West with the Margherita Party, part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Industry, Research and Energy.

She is a substitute for the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, a member of the Delegation to the EU-Chile Joint Parliamentary Committee and a substitute for the Delegation to the EU-Mexico Joint Parliamentary Committee.

See also: European Parliament election, 2004 (Italy)

Marie Skłodowska-Curie (7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a French-Polish physicist and chemist famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes—in physics and chemistry. She was the first female professor at the University of Paris, and in 1995 became the first woman to be entombed on her own merits in the Panthéon in Paris.

She was born Maria Salomea Skłodowska ([ˈmarja salɔˈmɛa skwɔˈdɔfska]) in Warsaw, in what was then the Kingdom of Poland. She studied at Warsaw's clandestine Floating University and began her practical scientific training in Warsaw. In 1891, aged 24, she followed her older sister Bronisława to study in Paris, where she earned her higher degrees and conducted her subsequent scientific work. She shared her 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics with her husband Pierre Curie and with the physicist Henri Becquerel. Her daughter Irène Joliot-Curie and son-in-law, Frédéric Joliot-Curie, would similarly share a Nobel Prize. She was the sole winner of the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Skłodowska-Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the only woman to date to win in two fields, and the only person to win in multiple sciences.

The Programme is an instrumental band based in Skiatook, Oklahoma. They were initially active the time period of 2004-2005. They are composed of Max Porter (guitar, xylophone, keyboards), Mark Chronister (guitar, keyboards), Travis Loafman (bass), and Jed Skalnik (drums). They have released one album, Theseus And The Time Machine, and created a massive cult following, stealing nearly every show they perform at.

Their first album is a narrative album, telling the story of a man named Theseus, who creates a time machine and travels through time, to find a lover named Pianissimo. Upon discovery that she is married to a man named Xanthus, Theseus travels back in time to prevent them from ever meeting by killing him. This results in a dramatic change of the future, and Theseus resigns to leave this time behind, and instead wander alone through the ages.

At shows, one of their most famous songs was "They Make Love." The extremely catchy song was always very well received by an enthusiastic crowd. During one show, guitarist Max Porter got so fired up during this song that he accidentally kicked the glockenspiel used in "Return to the Future to Discover Everything Has Changed" off the stage and into an unsuspecting female fan. No one was injured, but it serves as a testament to the Programme's passion in performing their instrumental works.