5 December Research Council

Date: 12/12/1996

A TOTAL of 100 million ecu was added to the budget of the Fourth Framework Research Programme, which runs until the end of 1998. The money was freed up as part of an underspend in the EU's budget line for research expenditure. Extra funds worth up to 35 million ecu were allocated for research into Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs), of which BSE and its human equivalent Creutzfeld Jakob Disease (CJD) are the most high-profile examples. As the time left to spend the cash is limited, ministers agreed to review progress in the research at the end of 1997. Aeronautical studies will benefit from an extra 20 million ecu of top-up funds, while educational multimedia, transport and environmental projects are each set to benefit from a 12-million-ecu cash injection, and research into the clearance of land-mines will be augmented by 9 million ecu.

SMALL and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must be made aware of the opportunities open to them through the EU's various research programmes, said ministers. Earlier this week, figures published by Eurostat, the Union's statistical office, revealed that 99&percent; of firms in the EU employ fewer than 50 people. These firms account for half the Union's jobs and half of its economic turnover.

DRUG abuse was discussed, with ministers calling on the Commission to coordinate research into the problem. They considered that this research should concentrate on a handful of key areas: the health and socio-economic effects of drug abuse, including psychological aspects; biomedical approaches to drug demand reduction and treatment; and the physical detection, profiling and biological monitoring of drugs. Finally, it was agreed that member states should attempt to share information on drug prevention policy.

RESEARCH priorities for the beginning of the next century were discussed when ministers examined the Commission's proposed Fifth Framework Programme for a second time. The programme is scheduled to come into force in 1999 and will concentrate on protecting the environment, new technologies and the challenges posed by the information society, promoting sustainable growth, improving training and mobility for research scientists, supporting technological development in the SMEs, and increased research co-operation with third countries, especially in central and eastern Europe. Ministers noted that the Commission would put forward its formal proposals for the programme in early 1997, during the forthcoming Dutch presidency of the Council of Ministers.