European Parliament on Fourth Framework Programme
Reporting on the Community's Fourth Framework Programme, the Energy Committee of the European Parliament proposed that an additional ECU 600 million was required for the overall budget (18.11.1993). This view was supported by the Parliament's Budget Committee. The Commission's proposal for the Fourth Framework Programme, after amendment by the Council, includes an overall budget of ECU 13.1 billion. The additional budget required by the European Parliament raises this to ECU 13.7 billion. The report indicated that, in addition to traditional fields of activity, including coal and steel, a fair proportion of the increased budget should be allocated to renewable energy sources. Greater financial support should also be given to social science research, while nuclear safety also required additional funding. Areas affecting the urban environment, such as telecommunications, transport and waste disposal were also singled out. Parliament proposes that ECU 500 million of the extra budget should be given to the first Action of the Framework Programme (Research and Demonstration), at the same time reducing the sum set aside for information technologies within the Action from ECU 3.9 billion to ECU 3.6 billion and increasing the sum dedicated to industrial technologies from ECU 1.8 billion to ECU 2.1 billion The remaining ECU 100 million proposed is to be shared equally between the second Action (Dissemination of Results) and the third Action (Training and Mobility of Researchers). In addition, the report called for the adoption of an Ethical Charter to determine the kinds of genetic research to be pursued. Following the debate on the proposal, Professor A. Ruberti replied for the Commission. He found that the amendments put forward by the European Parliament (a total of 140) in many ways improved the proposal for the Framework Programme. However, with regard to funding, he supported the figures established by the Council. The Parliament voted in favour of the amended proposal, supporting the demand for an overall budget of ECU 13.7 billion. It is possible that the Council will aim to reach a definitive Common Position on the proposal for the Fourth Framework Programme at its Session of 6 December 1993, following this opinion of the European Parliament. However, Parliament's insistence on an increased budget, despite the agreement on financing reached between the Council and the Commission, may result in an alteration to this timetable.