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Select Committee on European Legislation Tenth Report
FIFTH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME: POLICY DEBATE |
5.1 In July the Commission
launched a debate on the future structure and content of the Fifth
Framework Programme (FP5), inviting views. We considered this
Communication, Inventing Tomorrow, on 20 November[12]
when we indicated our intention to recommend it for debate. We
suggested, however, that European Standing Committee B should
have at its disposal a report which the House of Lords Committee
on the European Communities hoped to publish in early 1997.
5.2 In this Staff Working
Paper the Commission takes its proposals a step further forward.
Its aim is to clarify thoughts on structure, objectives and means
of implementation of FP5.
5.3 The Commission says that
it is generally acknowledged that the opportunity should be taken
to reassess certain aspects of the Union's research policy. It
claims that the general approach proposed in Inventing Tomorrow,
that there should be greater focus on societal and economic needs,
has been widely endorsed, as has the need for resources to be
made available for swift responses to rapidly changing situations.
The aim of this document is to explain how these ideas are to
be implemented.
5.4 To meet the objective
of better focused research, the Commission suggests limiting projects
to those which satisfy two criteria:
- Europe's
strengths or weaknesses should be taken into account so that the
only projects selected should be those which open up new avenues
of research or where there are serious gaps in knowledge. However,
Europe's competitiveness should also serve as a guide.
5.5 Research already covered
in FP4 would need to be carefully evaluated before the projects
concerned are reselected.
5.6 The main proposal is
that FP5 should consist of six programmes, of which three would
support research programmes (compared to the current 15) and three
would be connected with supporting activities. The three research
programmes would be based around "life sciences/the environment",
"the information society", and "competitive and
sustainable growth". The three supporting programmes would
deal with ancillary activities relevant to all three research
programmes: international co-operation, dissemination and exploitation
of results, and training and mobility of researchers.
5.7 The Commission says that
limiting the number of programmes would make it easier to improve
co-ordination within each programme and also between programmes.
Emphasis is placed in the document on improving co-ordination
between research projects carried out in different Member States
and under different EU programmes, such as PHARE and TACIS.
5.8 The paper proposes that
the total funding for FP5 should represent no higher proportion
of Category 3 (internal policies) of the financial perspective
than for FP4: that is, between one half and two-thirds of the
total, as agreed at the Edinburgh European Council in 1993. This
envisages no increase in real terms.
5.9 The Commission promises
to set out its proposals for the detailed content of FP5 in a
second Working Paper which it will issue shortly. This will be
followed by a formal proposal in March.
5.10 In his Explanatory Memorandum
(dated 7 January) the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at
the Department of Trade and Industry (Mr Ian Taylor) says:
Conclusion
5.11 The Commission has
made it clear in this paper and its predecessor that it is open
to suggestions on the content of the Fifth Framework Programme,
but there is little sign in the Minister's EM that the Government
is making any practical input. An early debate would provide
an opportunity to establish whether it intends to take a passive
line, waiting to see what the Commission suggests, or whether
it is, indeed, taking this opportunity to try to influence the
content of FP5 and if so, in what way.
5.12 As soon as the House
of Lords Science and Technology Committee's report is available,
we shall review our conclusions on this Working Paper and Inventing
Tomorrow with the possibility of recommending that they should
be debated in European Standing Committee B. If, by that time,
the Commission has published its second Working Paper, we ask
the Government to provide an EM as soon as possible so that all
three documents can be considered together. 12 (17494) 9578/96; see HC 36-iv (1996-97), paragraph 6. Back |
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| © Parliamentary copyright 1997 | Prepared 31 January 1997 |