Since the mid-1990's the European Commission (EC) has provided funding for transnational access schemes that open up existing major research facilities to outside users. In the current 6th Framework Program, two out of 14 funded projects - SUSPOWER and ENGAS - are of prime interest to the gas turbine community. SUSPOWER (KTH, Stockhom, Sweden) encompasses unique large-scale experimental facilities within the area of sustainable thermal power generation. Topics of key interest include high-temperature air combustion, catalytic combustion, gasification, aeroelasticity of turbine/compressor blades, film cooling aerodynamics, and stator/rotor interactions. ENGAS (NTNU, Trondheim, Norway) includes a complex array of specialized laboratories in the topic of environmental gas management. Relevant research topics include combustion of hydrogen and hythane, biomass gasification, CO2 absorption and sequestration, membranes for hydrogen and CO2 separation, gas storage in rock caverns, and hydrogen production and storage. This paper presents information on these projects along with a brief overview of previous EC transnational access activities as related to gas turbine research and development.