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Welcome from the Minister
 As President of the Research Council I would like to welcome you to the work on developing the European knowledge society. The foundations are good, but we lack a couple of the cornerstones we should build on.
Europe's role in global development largely depends on whether we manage to play a leading role in technological development. At the Lisbon summit in spring 2000, EU heads of state and government set the objective that in this decade the Union would become the most dynamic and competitive knowledge economy in the world. This objective was followed up at the summit in Barcelona in spring 2002 with the objective that total spending on research and innovation in the EU should be increased to almost 3 percent of GDP in 2010.
At the beginning of 2000, the Commission launched plans for establishing the European Research Area (ERA). There has been a positive attitude from the Member States to the overall concept, where the framework programme for research and technological development is an important component. However, it is now time for us at minister level to look at how far we have progressed with the integration of research and innovation in Europe, and where we can and should progress further. What can we do jointly to advantage, and what should we leave to national solutions?
The Lisbon process has now been under way for two years. We are gaining a constantly improving overview of where we are in Europe, so that we can set new goals for development in the next ten years. A number of initiatives have been implemented, which will also form the basis for concrete decisions.
The Spanish Presidency has contributed, with great skill and impact, to ensuring that the decision on the sixth Framework Programme was made after a constructive dialogue with the European Parliament. Under the Danish Presidency we will ensure that all necessary decisions are made so that the Sixth Framework Programme can be implemented with full effect from the beginning of 2003.
I would like to add that we are now starting a process where we make decisions on how we can best make the ERA a reality. There are many opportunities, but the task is to find sustainable solutions in both national and European interests. Welcome to the work.
Helge Sander,
Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation
1 July 2002 | 
