Brussels, 30/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - On 26 October the European Commission launched a public consultation to identify directions it should adopt in the future in order to develop future and emerging technologies (FET) - a high risk area of research, that is forward-thinking and long-term regarding the science and technology of information. According to the Commission, the strategic choices to be made in order to shape this research are of the utmost importance as the European economy of the next few decades will be based on FET and this is about adopting a long term strategy which aims to strengthen Europe's competitiveness and innovation. The consultation will be structured under two themes - research direction in FET, and arguments for the importance of this research. Interested parties (scientists, researchers, engineers, innovators, artists and entrepreneurs) are asked to submit their ideas before 30 November 2012. This is about measuring the importance given to FET research in order to resolve societal challenges of our age such as global warming, energy supply, pollution, the ageing of society and the democratic deficit. The contributions will enable the Commission to identify the big topics on which future FET research programmes should be founded.
Financed under the EU's seventh framework programme and launched in 1989, the FET programme is a pool of ideas and new topics for long term research regarding information and communication technologies (ICT). It is managed by the Commission's DG Information Society and Media and its objective is to move beyond the usual ICT boundaries and enter unexplored areas through greater collaboration with different science disciplines (including biology, chemistry, nanonscience and cognitive science, ethnology, social science and economics) as well as with arts and literature. The share of the seventh framework programme budget dedicated to FET research, which the Commission increases by 20% per year, stands today at €100 million and member states are asked to contribute the equivalent amount by budgetary increases of the same order. In total the Commission is financing FET research up to €500 million for 2010-2013. (IL/transl.fl)