Brussels, 15/06/2005 (Agence Europe) - Over lunch with the research ministers, in Luxembourg on 7 June, Commissioner Janez Potocnik underlined the consequences of insufficient funding for research. The decision to be taken by the European Council on the financial perspectives is a difficult one, but it is only in the light of this decision that we will be able to see whether the EU is taking the Lisbon Strategy seriously. In fact, the governments have a choice to make between the Europe of the past, redistributing current wealth, and a Europe turned resolutely towards the future, knowledge, competitiveness and growth, the Commissioner explained, stressing that the compromise taking shape was very clear, with 40% cuts for Lisbon programmes, compared to only 10% for the structural funds and 5% for agriculture. The result for the future of European research is a budget which increases by just a billion a year. The Commission also warned that with this kind of package, the only way to avoid spreading available credit too thinly would be to give up on a European Research Council, the funding of infrastructure, increasing Marie Curie funding and supporting SMEs.