10 Guidelines for European research policy
| (25768)
10740/04
COM(04) 353
| Commission Communication: Science and technology, the key to Europe's future — Guidelines for future European Union policy to support research
|
| Legal base | — |
| Document originated | 16 June 2004
|
| Deposited in Parliament | 24 June 2004
|
| Department | Trade and Industry
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 14 July 2004
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| Previous Committee Report | None
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| To be discussed in Council | No date set
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared
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Background
10.1 Article 163 of the Treaty establishing the European Community
says that :
"The Community shall have the objective of strengthening
the scientific and technological bases of Community industry and
encouraging it to become more competitive at international level,
while promoting all the research activities deemed necessary by
virtue of other chapters of this Treaty."
Article 164 provides (among other things) for the Community to
implement research, technological development and demonstration
projects (R&D). Article 165 requires the Community and Member
States to coordinate their R&D activities and authorises the
Commission to take "any useful initiative" to promote
such coordination. Article 166 requires the Council to adopt
multiannual R&D programmes (Framework Programmes).
10.2 The 6th Framework Programme covers the period
2002-2006. Early in 2005, the Commission will present its detailed
proposals for the 7th Framework Programme.
The document
10.3 The Commission says that :
"the ideas presented [in this Communication]must be the subject
of two debates: a policy debate within the Institutions [that
is, the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission];
and a debate among the stakeholders in and users of research in
Europe."
10.4 The Communication refers to and builds on ideas which the
Commission has included in other documents we have scrutinised
this year. These include the Commission's Communications on Basic
Research;[16] Security
Research;[17] Global
Monitoring for Environment and Security;[18]
the Financial Perspective for 2007-13;[19]
and Nanotechnology.[20]
10.5 The Communication says that R&D is "at
the heart of the knowledge-based economy" and a key factor
in growth, competitiveness and employment. That is why the Commission
proposes that the size of the Community's research budget should
double in the next Financial Perspective. The Communication also
notes that in March 2002 the Barcelona European Council set the
objective for expenditure on R&D to increase to 3% of the
European Union's GDP by 2010 (two-thirds coming from the private
sector and the rest from public funds). The Commission argues
that R&D in Europe is lagging behind that of its main competitors,
such as the USA and Japan, and that the Community needs to encourage
private investment in research by:
- establishing a framework for
major technological projects;
- increasing the number of researchers (Europe
currently has six researchers for every 1000 people in the labour
force, compared to eight in 1000 in the USA);
- creating "centres of excellence" for
research, capable of attracting the best talent from other countries;
and
- transforming the outcome of research into successful
products and services.
10.6 It is in this context that the Communication
sets out the following six major objectives:
i) Create European centres of excellence
through the provision of financial support for collaboration between
research laboratories, universities and companies.
ii) Launch European technological initiatives,
such as "technology platforms" which bring together
companies, research bodies, financial institutions and regulatory
authorities to define a research agenda which can "mobilise
a critical mass of — national and European — public
and private resources".
iii) Stimulate the creativity of basic research
through competition between teams at European level: in the
Commission's view, more basic research is needed and more competition
between research teams for funding. A new financial mechanism
is required to promote such competition.
iv) Make Europe more attractive to the best
researchers by, for example, attracting young people to science,
improving training at first degree and post-graduate levels, better
career development and encouraging the participation of women
in science and research.
v) Develop research infrastructures at European
level through the introduction of support for the construction
and operation of new infrastructures, such as bioinformatics databases.
vi) Improve the coordination of national research
programmes where, for example, Member States have shown a
willingness to commit their own funds or where there is interest
in cooperation between a limited number of Member States.
10.7 The Commission notes that the Structural Funds
can be used to support research facilities, such as local research
infrastructure. The Communication calls for more projects to
receive financial support from a combination of Structural Funds
and the R&D Framework Programme.
10.8 The Communication draws attention to two areas
of research — security and space — which deserve greater
prominence and funding.
10.9 Finally, the Communication says that the management
of Community research projects needs improvement and that the
administration of the grant system should be simplified.
The Government's view
10.10 The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
for Science and Innovation at the Department of Trade and Industry
(Lord Sainsbury) tells us that the Government supports the allocation
of a larger proportion of the Community's budget to research,
within the 1% of EU GDP to which that budget should be limited.
The Government also supports improving the delivery and administration
of the 7th Framework Programme.
10.11 The Minister adds, however, that it is not
clear that the Communication adequately addresses current weaknesses
in European R&D arrangements, for example by engaging companies
and increasing the impact of the Framework Programme on innovation
and exploitation of research.
10.12 In April the Government issued a consultation
document on the next Framework Programme.[21]
It asked for replies by 26 July. The results of the consultation
will inform the Government's response to the Commission's proposals
for the next Framework Programme.
Conclusion
10.13 The ideas in the Communication are familiar
from previous Commission documents. Nonetheless, it is useful
to have them brought together in one place and so we draw the
Communication to the attention of the House.
10.14 For the reasons given in our previous Reports
(see paragraph 10.4 above), we have reservations about some aspects
of the Commission's ideas, such as those about security research,
but we judge it unnecessary to add to those comments until specific
proposals for the 7th Framework Programme come before
us for detailed scrutiny. Accordingly, we are content to clear
this document from scrutiny.
16 (25289) 5598/04; see HC 42-xi (2003-04), para 18
(25 February 2004). Back
17
(25352) 6092/04; see HC 42-xii (2003-04), para 5 (10 March 2004). Back
18
(25344) 6094/04; see HC 42-xii (2003-04), para 20 (10 March 2004). Back
19
(25367) 6232/04; see HC 42-xv (2003-04) (24 March 2004). Back
20
(25678) 9621/04; see HC 42-xxiv (2003-04), para 2 (23 June 2004)
and para 3 of this Report. Back
21
7th R&D Framework Programme: A Consultation Document,
Office of Science and Technology, April 2004. Back
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