The future of EU research

Rudolf Meijer, European Commission

Prague, 26 May 2004

Annex X

Priorities for the enlarged Union

• Europe must work together for higher growth with more and better jobs

• Attain the Lisbon objective of becoming one of the most competitive economies

• Strenghten the European effort in RTD by- realising a European Research Area- raising European effort to 3% of GDP- increasing financial support at EU level

Main themes for EU action

• Support projects carried out by individual research teams selected EU-wide

• Support key infrastructures at EU level• Set up public/private partnerships based

on technological platforms concept• Stimulate European “poles of excellence”

based on networking and co-operation• Improve co-ordination of national and

regional research programmes

Effort in S&T related fields

• Space applications:- positioning and navigation,- earth observation and monitoring- telecommunications

• Security:- bio-terrrorism,- cyber crime

• Education and training

First orientations for FP7

• More necessary than ever for Europe to invest more in research

• Europe can become an area of scientific and technological excellence

• Need various instruments: legal, financial, both through MS efforts, and those of EU (and co-ordination of all of these !!)

• Support at EU level must be reinforced

Six challenges

• Stimulate competition between individual research teams

• Develop research infrastructures

• Launch technological initiatives

• Consolidate the co-operation

• Reinforce human resources

• Promote co-ordination

Support for individual teams

• New challenge for EU: no transnational co-operation, nor mobility, required

• Will cover also basic research fields

• Needs autonomy and flexibility

• Would be managed by an EU agency,in close association with the scientific community itself

A European research agency

• Responsible for support to individual teams

• Covering all fields of science

• Guaranteeing quality by peer review

• Overseen by a European Research Councilconsisting of independent personalities

• Management Board composed ofrepresentatives of Commission andscientific community

Human Resources• initial training at EU level (also across

disciplines) and European Chairs• transfer of knowledge and technologies

(especially for less advanced regions)• promotion of intersectorial and university/

industry mobility• international mobility• life-long learning and career development

(discipline change, re-integration)

Financing sources

• EU budget through Framework Programme

• European Investment Bank (innovation!)

• Also, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and national banks

• Structural Funds can support infrastructures and human resources – complementarity needs to be enhanced

Time-table

• Adoption of Commission document later this year, for discussion in Council and Parliament, and with scientific community

• Concrete proposals for FP7 only in 2005

• Contributions to the debate welcomed especially also from scientific community of the new Member States