On the 1st December 2010, Judith Merkies, Dutch MEP and Rapporteur of the European Parliament of the Innovation Union, together with the ERMIS project partners kindly invite you to participate in the event called “Innovation Union – Local business with ERMIS”. The event will be organised at the European Parliament and will be hosted by Judith Merkies.  Distinguished speakers from the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Belgian Presidency of the European Union will give their view on the new European Innovation Strategy and its expected impact on Europe’s SME’s. In addition, the ERMIS project will be presented and this event will offer you the opportunity of debating its benefits for regional economies and communities.The ERMIS (Effective Reproducible Model on Innovation Systems) project funded by the European Commission’s INTERREG IVC programme, aims to jointly develop an effective and transferable governance model for local innovation systems, dedicated to foster and leverage innovation in SME’s in accordance with the Lisbon strategy objectives.  We believe that many of these issues are of considerable interest and importance to you, and we hope that you will take this opportunity to participate in the development of the best possible policy instruments for value innovation and sustainable growth within SME’s.We thank you in anticipation and hope you will be able to lend your support by attending this important event. Deadline registration: 19 November 2010.