MEPs call for fair treatment of candidate countries under FP6
German MEP Jürgen Zimmerling has produced an own-initiative report asking the Commission to ensure that researchers in the applicant countries receive fair treatment compared to the Member State counterparts under the Sixth Framework programme (FP6). Voting on the report, the Parliament's Committee on industry, external trade, research and energy urged the Commission and Member States to encourage links between research and industry through co-financing, flexible career planning, private research entities and the funding of research through industrial associations in the candidate countries. Candidate country SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) should also receive special attention, according to the report. The Commission should help to create a financial environment so that SMEs are not restricted from participation in FP6 by the need for bank guarantees or the burden of assuming a significant share of co-financing. The committee also called on the applicant countries to develop a research strategy of their own. This could take the form of assistance payments or incentives, said the committee. Mr Zimmerling noted in his report that low public research funding and inadequate mechanisms for attracting private sector funding have led to an impoverishment of human research potential in the candidate countries, with ageing research infrastructures and low researchers' salaries contributing to the problem.