The European Research Area (ERA)

Major political decisions affecting EU Research

The following major political objectives and strategies since FP5 have influenced and are reflected in FP6:

The ‘Lisbon’ economic objective
The Lisbon European Council Summit held on in March 2000 set an objective to ‘make the European Union the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010’. This has since been interpreted as requiring focused community-wide investment in research, and the improvement of innovation and entrepreneurship.

The European Research Area
The European Research Area (ERA) was proposed by the Commission in January 2000. It has since been endorsed by the Heads of State and Government, and is now the major research policy debate in Europe.

Commissioner Philippe Busquin, the architect of the ERA, described it as “The development, at European level, of an area for the coherent and co-ordinated pursuit of research activities and policies, and an area in which researchers and knowledge move freely will encourage the expression of European excellence in several ways: First, by making it possible to establish a 'critical mass' of potential excellence, by networking the capacities present in different Member States, particularly through intensive use of information and communication technologies. Second, by releasing people and teams from the protection of national barriers, thus introducing competition and increasing the general level of excellence. Third, by attracting to Europe the best researchers from the rest of the world, in the same way that American campuses are currently attracting researchers.”

Increasing R&D investment (the Barcelona summit)
EU Heads of State and Government, when they met in Barcelona in March 2002, agreed the objective of boosting R&D and innovation in the EU by increasing expenditure to approach three per cent of GDP by 2010.

This is an attempt to close the gap between the EU and its major competitors. Two thirds of the new investment in R&D is expected to come from the private sector which invests proportionately less than that in its major global competitor countries.

We need to have a common EU research effort

Behind the 6th Framework Programme is a different concept that potential participants need to fully understand if they are to be successful.

In the past the European Union has had 15 individual national research programmes all having a similar set of priorities, and the Framework Programmes were in effect a 16th programme. In this situation we suffer duplication of effort and dissipation of resources and we can never talk about ‘European’ research as a single entity, in the same way that we would talk about American research or Japanese research.

In consequence the EU has agreed at the highest political level to a new concept called the ‘European Research Area’ (ERA). Just like the opening of trade markets has led to the Single Market, so the opening up of research into a single common area will benefit research generally.

But realising this ‘European Research Area’ is a challenge for the EU, its Member States, and the research community. In respect of the EU, its main instrument of research is the Framework Programmes. Thus FP6 will channel its budget into actions and projects designed to build the ERA in partnership with Europe’s best researchers.

• Read the CORDIS news item on ERA

FP6 as a way to implement the ERA

Where previous Framework Programmes have been divided into several ‘vertical’ Programmes around research topics and ‘horizontal’ Programmes that cut across research areas, FP6 is divided into just two Specific Programmes. The first Programme has two objectives  - ‘Integrating and Strengthening’ the ERA, while the second Programme has the objective ‘Structuring’ the ERA.

The three objectives are:

Objective one – Focusing and Integrating Research
The bulk of expenditure under the sixth framework programme is centred on major research projects that will be structured so as to have an integrating effect on Europe’s research resources, resulting in a common endeavour. FP6 research projects require that the partners make a much greater commitment to a permanent structural change.

The research will be focused on specific themes that are strategically important to Europe’s future. The themes have been devised in the light of political debate, expert advice, and public consultation. They are not structured from the starting point of traditional research disciplines, but as strategic themes that will be achieved through combinations of scientific disciplines.

The FP6 priority themes


Life sciences, genomics and biotechnology for health Information Society Technologies (IST) Nanotechnologies and nanosciences, knowledge-based multifunctional materials, and new production processes and devices Aeronautics and space Food quality and safety Sustainable development, global change, and ecosystems Citizens and governance in a knowledge-based society

Within these thematic priorities are found the objectives of the research itself, so it is here that you must look for the role of your research subject or scientific discipline, once you have understood the overall objectives. The key to relating your discipline to the right theme is to study the Work Programme for each theme.

Objective two - Structuring the European Research Area
This block of activities seeks to attack the structural weaknesses that affect European research. Although research may often be part of an activity, this objective is not concerned with the research itself, but the environment in which research has to exist. Activities within this programme are applicable to all fields of research and technology.

There are four activities :

Reseach and innovation Human resources and mobility (Marie Curie actions) Research infrastructures Science and society

Objective three -Strengthening the European Research Area
The objective of this action, which is combined with ‘Integrating Research’ into one Programme, is to stimulate the coherent development of research and innovation in Europe by supporting programme coordination and joint actions conducted at national and regional level. Activities may be implemented in any scientific and technological area.

They will take two forms:

Coordination of existing activities Development of research and innovation policies

Reference documents and sites:

Commission communication COM (2000) 6 “Towards a European Research Area” Commission communication (COM(2002)565 “The European Research Area: Providing new momentum - Strengthening - Reorienting - Opening up new perspectives” Sixth Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities, contributing to the creation of the European Research Area and to innovation (2002 to 2006) ERA website on CORDIS ERA website on Europa