Key Notes

Towards a functioning European research area: shaping the 6th research programme

Background: Importance of the subject - European added value

Research is at the heart of competitiveness and a central means to reach the goal set in Lisbon in 2000 of making the European Union a knowledge based economy by 2010. The level of research efforts has indeed significant influence on a country's or a region's economic performance and trading position. In this field, Europe needs to perform better as it lags behind its main competitors: the overall spending on research remains low (1.9% compared to 2.7% in the US) and European economies are less able to exploit the results of scientific work in economic terms. Europe’s main weakness lies without doubt in the fragmentation and dispersion of its research activities. That is where the EU can bring clear value added (co-ordination of efforts and financial support).


I. What does the European Union do?
Areas and modalities of action

• Financial support for European research projects
• Co-ordination of the efforts of the Member States to increase research and a better sharing of research results

II. What has the EPP-ED Group achieved?
Key role in shaping the 6th framework programme on research (2002-06).

The EPP-ED Group has played a major role in shaping the 6th framework programme on research: It has defined the priorities of the programme by ensuring that funds for research be dedicated to areas of importance for European citizens and the competitiveness of the our continent and has managed to achieve a substantial increase in the total funding allocated to research compared to the initial proposals by the Council of Ministers.

• Emphasis on health: We made research on age-related and rare diseases a priority (cancer, cardiovascular diseases, degenerative diseases of the nervous system such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson’s and Creutzfeldt-Jacob diseases, diabetes, viral hepatitis C, and allergies) instead of limiting research simply to the fields of genomics and biotechnology. We ensured that the importance of epidemiology as well as of prevention policies be given an adequate share in the programme, and that greater efforts be made on research into poverty-linked diseases such as malaria, AIDs and tuberculosis.



• Focus on information society: We secured further research into new display systems for mobile phones, so that consumers can, for example, be given more information on prices when travelling from country to country.



• Environment-friendly energy and transport modes: We pushed for making research on new forms of energy and on sustainable modes of transport a priority, because of their importance for sustainable development and environment protection.



• Preparing the future by emphasising fundamental research.



• Guaranteeing the respect of fundamental ethical principles in the conduct of research under the framework programme. Such a guarantee is now enshrined in EU-law;



• Support for research by SMEs: 15% of the funds of the 6th research programme have been earmarked for SMEs, which are dynamic and job creating enterprises;

III. Our goals for the next legislative period:
Increase the level and better co-ordinate European research

We need to create a well functioning European research area ensuring the complementarity of the Members States' research efforts as well as complementing them. The role of the EU as a co-ordinator of the European research sector must be intensified and focus be put on an efficient exploitation of scientific work. The EU can provide a substantial contribution to the improvement of European competitiveness and to the well-being of its citizens.

• Increase Europe’s research efforts to at least 3% of GDP: For Europe to match its competitors, it needs more innovation. Our efforts should aim at increasing the overall research spending to at least 3% of GDP. In this way, we will improve the continent’s trade balance in high-tech products and its competitiveness on the world markets.



• Co-ordinate European efforts: Our goal is a functioning European Research Area. Research is an expensive and long term investment. 25 individual research sectors lead to dispersion and duplication. Therefore, to overcome the weaknesses of our continent, we need an efficient co-ordination of efforts at the European level. The EU has an essential role to play in benchmarking efforts and ensuring complementarity to the benefit of the entire Union.



• Focus research efforts on new technologies: areas such as biotechnology, information and communications technology are the main driving forces behind economic growth. Europe’s competitiveness in coming years will be strongly influenced by its ability to be in the front lead in the field of new technologies. Therefore, we want to pursue our efforts aimed at increasing European competitiveness in that field.



• Support for fundamental research: Fundamental research is at the root of the applied technologies of tomorrow. We therefore need to strongly support fundamental research and increase its value added.



• Medical research must be intensified in order to improve treatments and face new public health challenges. We shall ensure the provision of adequate funding, especially for research in the fields of rare and age-related illnesses as well as to cope with the phenomenon of resistance to antibiotics.



• Food quality research: We want to ensure high quality food for European citizens. Research must be intensified to guarantee safe food and healthy nutrition. Bio-based industries need more particularly to be strengthened.