| Author (Person) | Thomson, Ian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Title | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Details | 24.2.01 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Publication Date | 24/02/2001 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The European Commission presented on the 21 February 2001 proposals for a new five-year research and innovation framework programme planned to operate from 2002 until 2006. Background Research has always been on the Community agenda. The treaties establishing the original Communities each included one or more Articles on research: European Coal and Steel Community Article 55; European Atomic Energy Community Articles 4-11; European Economic Community Articles 41 and 235. The relevant Articles in the Treaty of Rome [pdf] are now 163-173. It was not until the 1970's that a common research policy was developed. Momentum was provided by the Paris Summit in October 1972, at which the Heads of State or Government decided to ensure the development of a common science and technology policy. At their meeting in Copenhagen the following December they asked the Commission to actively develop 'a common policy on industrial, scientific and technological cooperation in all fields' (as set out in Council Resolution of 14 January 1974 on an initial outline programme of the European Communities in the field of science and technology). Council meetings in 1981 and 1982 discussed the need for a Framework Programme setting out broad, medium-term objectives for Community research. In February 1983 the Council agreed that more money should be spent on research and soon after adopted Council Resolution of 28 June 1983 on a Community plan of action relating to the evaluation of Community research and development programmes, in which it approved the First Framework Programme. In 1986, the Single European Act incorporated a common research and development (R&D) policy into the Treaty of Rome. The December 1993 White Paper on growth, competitiveness, and employment - The challenges and ways forward into the 21st century (COM (93) 700) attached great significance to R&D in promoting Europe's international competitiveness. In January 2000, the Commission published a Communication: Towards a European research area [pdf] (COM (2000) 6 final). The Communication warned that the EU's overall research effort (that is, the EU + national research programmes) in relation to gross domestic product has been steadily declining for over a decade and there is a widening gap in relation to the United States and Japan. European companies employ far fewer researchers than their American counterparts, and there are wide variations in R&D investment between EU Member States. In the proposals to create a European Research Area, the Commission aims at creating a frontier-free area for research in Europe where scientific resources are used more effectively to create jobs and increase competitiveness. The Framework Programme forms part of this initiative, but it also includes further proposals to develop networking of centres of excellence and a European approach to large research infrastructures. In addition, there are proposed measures to promote spin-offs from research such as action on patents, easier access to risk capital, better co-ordination between public and industrial research and greater mobility of researchers. A summary of the proposals is available (IP/00/52). In March 2000, Ministers responsible for research held an informal meeting under the Portuguese Presidency to discuss the Communication (see Preparatory documents for the Informal meeting of Research Ministers in Lisbon - 6 & 7 March 2000. At the special European Council in March 2000 in Lisbon the Heads of Government affirmed the leading role of research in the knowledge-based society and for the competitiveness of industry in Europe. An evaluation report [pdf] into the Fifth Framework Programme carried out for the European Commission by independent experts, issued in July 2000, warned that there is a danger of Europe falling behind other economic areas and losing its place as a centre of excellence for the creation of knowledge if European leaders do not place research at the right political level. The report, addressed to EU Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin, states that EU research programmes alone will not be enough to meet the challenges faced by European research and that demographic changes and decreasing research budgets will make a major policy review necessary. A summary is available (IP/00/817). Further general background information on European research and development policy can be found in European Sources Online's Topic Guide entitled 'Research and Development policy in the European Union' Framework Programmes For the past twenty years it is through Framework Programmes that the main EU R&D activities have been focused. There have been five Framework Programmes so far:
Each broad Framework Programme identifies a number of areas in which specific programmes are developed and projects carried out. Three main types of activity can be identified:
Over the years agreements with various non-Member States have been made to allow for their participation in Framework Programme activities. The Sixth Framework Programme, 2002-2006 In October 2000 the European Commission adopted a Communication (pdf) (COM (2000)612 final) for the future of research in Europe. It sets out guidelines for implementing the 'European Research Area' initiative, and more particularly the Research Framework Programme. A summary is available (IP/00/1117). The formal progress of this Communication through the EU policy-making process can be traced in PreLex. This has now been followed up by more detailed proposals for the Sixth Framework Programme issued on 21 February 2001 (COM (2001)94 final). A summary is also available (IP/01/240). Seven key emerging technologies and research priorities are proposed:
A specific part of the budget is proposed for research to help improve the design of public policies at a European level in the anticipation of scientific and technological needs of the Union. This includes, for example, research on fisheries, as well as particular aspects of transport and energy policy, environment policy and other matters dealt with by the European Union. It also includes an allocation for research at the very frontiers of science and technology. In addition to these priorities, special measures are proposed for SMEs, innovation, mobility of researchers and the networking of national initiatives. The Commission is proposing to streamline the administration and management of the programme by proposing new methods of funding such as integrated projects and networks of excellence. The Commission is also proposing to encourage for the first time the use of an instrument (under Article 169 of the Treaty) which would allow participation of the Union in national programmes of Member States carried out jointly. In the new integrated projects and networks, Framework Programme participants will be encouraged to define and present for funding longer-term programmes of activities. These can be tailor-made to cover a range of individual projects of variable size as required. They can also be adjusted during implementation to meet new research opportunities and needs. If accepted, these new measures will allow the Commission to propose a reduction in its own administrative costs involved in implementing the framework programme. Reflecting the increased priority given to research and innovation, the Commission is proposing a budget of 17.5 billion euro for the new programme. This budget, covering the four-year period 2003-2006, represents an increase of 17% over the budget of the Fifth research framework programme (14.9 billion euros). Further details of the budget proposed were separately published on the 22 February 2001 in a statement (MEMO/01/50) The research and innovation programme is part of a wider political initiative aiming at creating a European Research Area, as endorsed by the Lisbon Summit in March 2000. The new programme proposals are one of the major actions in the strategy paper (COM (2001)79 final) the Commission has put forward for the European Council, Stockholm on 23-24 March 2001 (Summary: IP/01/170). The final decision on the new programme lies jointly with the Council and the European Parliament. An indicative roadmap is available. To trace the subsequent development of the Communication of February 2001 in the EU policy making process use:
Proposals as regards the detail of the specific R&D programmes will be issued later. Many Member State governments and other stakeholders have submitted their proposals for the Sixth Framework Programme, and the wider proposals to create a European Research Area. A selection of these are listed below. Further information within European Sources Online:
Further information can be seen in these external links: EU Institutions
National Organisations
Miscellaneous Organisations
Further and subsequent information on the subject of this In Focus can be found by an 'Advanced Search' in European Sources Online by inserting 'Research Framework programmes' in the keyword field or by selecting 16.2.a from the Subject list or 'Framework programme: Research and Development' from the Alphabetical List of Subjects' Ian Thomson The European Commission presented on the 21 February 2001 proposals for a new five-year research and innovation framework programme to run from 2002 until 2006 |
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| Subject Categories | Culture, Education and Research | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
