Brussels, 23/11/2006 (Agence Europe) - The 7th Framework Programme for Research and Development (2007-2013) is likely to be approved by the European Parliament on 30 November and by the Council on 5 December. In expectation of its implementation from January, the Commission has increased its communication activities, in Brussels and in Member States, to explain the various workings of this €54 billion programme, focused mainly on research and industrial development. If possible, the Commission will, just before Christmas launch, issue a first package of calls for proposals in order to set the new programme on its way. This would also be to send the strong signal that research Europe was on the move, stressed those close to European Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik.
Three fifths of the 7th FPRD's financial instrument will go to research and development undertaken in cooperation by research centres, companies and universities. Information and communication technology will get the lion's share: €9.1 billion. Particularly targeted will be the stability and security of the network and services infrastructure, performance and reliability of electronic systems and components, the management of digital content. In second position comes health: €6 billion for (1) biotechnologies (high through-put screening, detection, diagnosis, innovative therapies), (2) translational research (application of fundamental discoveries in clinical research) for human health (integration of data and biological processes, CNS, human development and aging, infectious diseases, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes/obesity, rare diseases and other chronic illness including rheumatic illnesses, (3) optimisation if healthcare provision (transposing clinical results into clinical practice). Then follows transport, with €4.1 billion: aeronautics, sustainable surface transport and support for Galileo and EGNOS. Nanosciences will have an envelope of €3.5 billion: fuel cells, renewable energy, CO2 capture and storage technologies, clean coal, energy savings. Food, agriculture and biotechnology will receive €1.9 billion: sustainable management of resources, food security, crop improvement. A similar sum (€1.8 billion) will go to the environment: climate change, sustainable management of resources, ecotechnology, observation of the Earth. In terms of Space, GMES and exploration activities carried out in cooperation with the European Space Agency have been allocated €1.4 billion. €1.3 billion has been allocated to security (disaster and emergency services, security of infrastructure, intelligent surveillance and border security, interoperability of security systems). Socio-economic and human sciences bring up the rear with €610 million.
The 7th FPRD will devote€7.4 billion to discoveries of tomorrow. This sum will finance exploratory research programmes through the European Research Council, an independent body made up of high-level scientists.
An envelope of €4.7 billion will support researcher mobility and the development of scientific careers in the EU. The remaining appropriations are shared among research infrastructure (€1.8 billion), SMEs (€1.3 billion), knowledge regions (€126 million), development of the potential of research in regions qualifying for convergence aid and outermost regions (€370 million), communication with the general public (€280 million) support for the coherent development of research policies (€70 million) and international cooperation (€185 million).
To this is added the EURATOM programme (€2.7 billion) over five years covering all the activities related to nuclear energy. €2 billion will be given over to fusion, particularly for the construction of the ITER experimental reactor. (oj)