Commissioner Cresson receives award from the Association of Space Explorers
The European Commissioner for research and innovation, Mrs Edith Cresson, received the Association of Space Explorers' annual award during the Congress of Space Explorers held in Brussels, on 19 October 1998. The Association of Space Explorers is an organisation made up of astronauts and cosmonauts, which each year recognises an outstanding contribution to the development of space activities. In accepting the award, Mrs Cresson underlined the significance of space research in Europe and its contribution to cooperative research at European level. The importance of space, not only as a research field, but also as a fundamental dimension to economic activities in sectors such as the environment, telecommunications and transport, was also underlined. In addition, she outlined the contribution made by the Community's Framework Programmes to research and development activities in Europe, while emphasising the need to ensure that R&D responded to societal needs. For this reason, the Fifth Framework Programme will endeavour to serve the wider policy objectives of the Community, in terms of industrial competitiveness, job creation, health improvement and protection of the environment. The role of education and training, particularly in science and new technologies, was also addressed by the Commissioner and in particular the role played by the EU. The potential benefits in terms of combating Europe's social problems, such as that of exclusion, and in terms of job creation and economic growth were also underlined.