Brussels, 22/06/2001 (Agence Europe) - The next President of the Research Council, the Belgian Liberal Francois-Xavier de Donnea, Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital region, presented the priorities of the future Belgians Presidency of the European Union. The new Presidency wants to bring a decisive contribution to the creation of the European Research Area and to "steer in an as constructive manner as possible, in close cooperation with the European Parliament (of which Mr Donnea was a member from 25 July 19989 to 12 December 1991: Ed.), the debates that will have to lead to the approval of the new Framework Research Programme (2002-2006). The future Belgian Presidency wants to reach a common position. It also feels that the key to success for European research will be a wide opening to the world and proposed to improve the attractiveness of the EU for researchers, by notably insisting on mobility, and that of scientific research, in particular with the young and women. Underlining that the scientific Europe must be based on its humanist values to contribute towards the scientific and technological development of the less affluent countries, the future Presidency underlines the need to enhance research into transmissible diseases and infectious tropical illnesses. It also intends to continue the new collaboration between the European Space Agency and the EU.
The future Presidency has selected an emblem for itself: the stick of Ishango, which will act as the link between all the events that it will organise: - conference on the theme "For a European research open to the world: excellence, mobility and exchanges, on 17 and 18 September in Brussels; - meeting of the GMES, 15 October in Brussels; - conference "Enhancing the European added value of human and social sciences, 29 and 30 October in Brussels; - conference on international best practices in research, 12 and 13 November in Brussels; - conference on the place of SMEs in the 6th Framework Research Programme, 19 November in Liege; - conference entitled: Popularisation of sciences in Europe and its regions, 17 and 18 December in Brussels. As a reminder, the stick of Ishango, discovered in 1950 of the shore of Lake Eduardo (Congo), is a small bone of 10 cm in length carved with a series on notches. It is thought to be the oldest evidence of the mathematical ability of our ancient ancestors: a prehistoric calculator aged from 15,000 to 20,000 years and symbolising, due to this, the human awareness for scientific logic. On 1 July, the CORDIS information service will open the site of the Belgian Presidency at the following address: http://www.cordis.lu/belgium .