£209m budget for EU technology institute?

The creation of a European Institute of Technology (EIT) now looks likely, despite widespread opposition from academics, especially in Britain. The European Union's Council of Ministers has backed a draft regulation giving the EIT a €308.7 million (£209.2 million) budget over six years from January 2008. They also backed initially creating two or three EIT "knowledge and innovation communities", the academic networks that will form the EIT's backbone. These could focus on renewable energy or climate change.