Brussels, 29/10/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Commissioner responsible for research policy, Philippe Busquin, and representatives of the thirteen candidate countries (including Turkey) signed, on Tuesday in Brussels, association agreements allowing their full participation in the sixth EU Framework Programme for Research (2003-2006), which will take effect on 1 January 2003 and which will have an overall budgetary allocation of EUR 17.5 billion.
Mr Busquin was pleased to state that, with the signing of the agreements, enlargement is already becoming a reality in the field of research, well before the date set for accession by the future new members. He stressed that research would thus become the first Community policy for which the future members will be treated on an equal footing with the current members. This anticipation of the effect of accession in the field of research must also be seen as recognition, on the part of the Commission and the current Member States, of the candidate countries' "extraordinary scientific potential", stressed Mr Busquin. Including candidates in the 6th FP will also be to the advantage of current EU Member States as, he said, research workers and engineers from candidate countries may now use their knowledge and their experience to raise the major challenges of European research and fully participate in the setting in place of the European Research Area, the true internal market for knowledge and science. The signing of these agreements will make a decisive stage for candidate countries and strengthen their contribution to Europe's competitiveness and to the quality of life of its citizens, commented Mr Busquin.
At the present time, candidate countries are already taking part in the EU's fifth framework programme for research (1998-2002). In order to come to the end of the obstacles that have hindered their participation in the research programme, the Commission will launch a series of specific support actions aimed at encouraging and facilitating their involvement, especially concerning the excellence networks and integrated projects. The research centres, universities and enterprises of candidate countries have already given proof of their enthusiasm for the 6th FP by submitting many "expressions of interest", Mr Busquin said. On 20 March this year, the Commission had invited the scientific community and European businesses to present their ideas on the most promising research themes. Some 12,000 expressions of interest were received in response to this invitation. Seven candidate countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia) also expressed the wish to be involved in the EURATOM framework programme (2003-2006) in the field of nuclear research, which has a budget of EUR 1.23 billion.
(For more information on participation by candidate countries in the 5PC (1998-2002), consult the following pages: http: //http://www.cordis.lu/fp5/enlargement.htm. For more information concerning the 6FP: http: //europa.eu.int/comm/research/fp6/index_en.html ).