Brussels, 21/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the European commission adopted two proposals concerning the sixth framework-programme on research and innovation and the Euratom research programme for the period 2002-2006. These two programmes, which will be submitted to the European Parliament and Council in the framework of the co-decision procedure, establish a general framework for Community action in the research sector, with several major innovations. This programme, which is based on a whole new concept of Community action, is to encourage the involvement of the scientific community as well as the private sector. It thus takes to 15% (instead of the current 10%) the goal of SME participation. The debate should start swiftly, in the European Parliament, where a rapporteur has already been chosen in the person of the French Socialist Gerard Caudron, as well as in the Council: the subject is on the agenda of the informal meeting of research ministers that is to be held in a few days in Uppsala, in Sweden. Research and innovation having become EU priorities back at the Lisbon Summit of March 2000, the next framework-programme should be raised at the informal European Council of Stockholm, at the same time - the two subjects are intimately linked - as progress made on the path to a European Area of Research.
The Commission's draft establishes a reference financial framework of 17.5 billion euro (16.2 for the sixth programme and 1.2 for the Euratom programme), or an increase of 17% over the current research budget. Originally, Commissioner Philippe Busquin had proposed a budget of 17.8 billion, but, given the budgetary constraints imposed by Agenda 2000, this amount was downwardly reviewed in the context of an agreement with the Commissioner for the Budget Michaele Schreyer. This 300 million saving was achieved by reducing by 100 million (each time) the amounts originally provided for: - the envelope intended to bringing forward the Union's scientific requirements; - the amount earmarked for supporting infrastructures; - credits for thermonuclear fusion in the Euratom programme, which also comprises the sume of 200 million allocated to the ITER project that is still being prepared with the EU partners (For the content of the programme and the distribution of credits, see EUROPE of 21 February, p.6).
Presenting the programme to the press, Busquin placed emphasis on the qualitative leap that it is to represent in the building of the European Area of Research and development and innovation at the service of citizens and Europe's industrial competitiveness. "It is not a question of a Vbis programme", he exclaimed, stressing that "the new framework-programme" (he said he preferred those words) rested on a more structural approach. It must also help to "get European scientists around the same table", be a tool at the service of synergy and meet the challenges that the brain drain represents for Europe and the lack of the attractiveness of the EU for high-level third country scientists. To tackle all this, the draft provides for a doubling of available credits for human potential and mobility, the Commissioner explained. Returning to the seven priority topics of research that figure on the programme, Mr. Busquin stressed that these choice took account of two "scientific and industrial revolutions": genomics (he spoke of "opening a book whose pages still needed filling"), nanotechnologies. He explained the important place of granted to information technologies by their role as vectors of information and knowledge. Other subjects, like food safety or the environment, respond to the concerns of citizens. Asked about the disappearance of subjects like transport or energy, the Commission explained that sure these sectors had lost their special place the programme's structure, but that research into them could continue to benefit from Community support, especially in the context of the envelope concerning the EU's scientific requirements. In addition, the sectors of energy and transport are especially concerned by research undertaken in the context of sustainable development and even nanotechnologies, production materials and procedures. Mr. Busquin stressed that this programme had also to allow for credits to be better focussed while simplifying and decentralising the management of research activities. Under the 5th framework-programme, the Commission's services had already 100,000 research projects out of which 20,000 were chosen, he recalled, stressing that in future those responsible for new "integrated projects" and "networks of excellence" would have greater freedom.