Innovation and the knowledge society set to be top priority for French Presidency
Encouraging economic growth, employment and innovation in Europe is set to be a top priority of the forthcoming French Presidency of the European Council, taking office on 1 July 2000 for the eleventh time since the establishment of the European Communities. Paying homage to the achievement made under the outgoing Portuguese Presidency at a press conference on 27 June, Pierre Moscovici, Minister responsible for European affairs, signalled the desire of the French Presidency to build on the initiatives set at the Lisbon summit for encouraging employment in the Information Society. To this end, the French Presidency will be promoting the establishment of a Community patent, an innovation scoreboard, the creation of a '.eu' domain name, and the creation of a high-speed network connecting researchers across Europe. Politically, ensuring the Information Society is accessible to all will continue to be one of the Council's main concerns. Attention was also given to the construction of a European research area at the heart of the knowledge society and open to the rest of the world. Mr Moscovici further promised to take steps in establishing a food safety authority, harmonising maritime safety procedures, and to address environmental concerns surrounding genetically modified organisms. ut their fo
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France