Romania expresses total support for FP7 proposals
Romania has expressed 'all support' for the Commission's proposals for the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), arguing that they comply with the various recommendations on EU research policy that have been made in recent months. The Romanian government believes that the FP7 proposals respond well to the issues raised in three reports in particular: the mid-term evaluation of the new FP6 instruments, the recommendations on the implementation of the 3 per cent research investment target, and the mid-term review of the Lisbon strategy. '[T]he proposal reflects the consolidation of an even more European-specific research policy, built on the principles of consensus, based on trans-national cooperation and dialogue, and of total policy transparency,' reads the position paper. The Commission's plans not only aim to strengthen the European Research Area (ERA) through improved coordination of national research programmes and the development of excellence and infrastructures at European level, but they also target a 'crucial shift in using research and innovation as the major source of knowledge for boosting the competitiveness of the European economy', the document adds. Romania supports the structuring of the programme under the four headings 'cooperation', 'ideas', 'people' and 'capacities', saying that it represents a welcome shift from the classical focus on research priorities to a clustering around goals and underlying policies that will maximise both the research potential and expected outcomes. The continuity of research themes from FP6 under the 'cooperation' heading, allied to increased flexibility in their definition, is also welcomed in the position paper. However, the Romanian government adds that the thematic areas could be made even more effective through an increased focus on European specificity - for example by adapting to the evolving targets generated by Technology Platforms - and regional strengths, especially where linked to strong regional research-industry clusters. In order to concentrate research resources and achieve critical mass, Romania would like to see project evaluation and selection criteria that encourage the participation of consortium partners that represent their particular research field at a national, rather than institutional, level. Increased coordination between EU projects with similar objectives or complementary results is also called for in the report. The Romanian position welcomes the success of the ERA-NET scheme and fully supports its further development, calling for stronger links between it and other European initiatives such as COST, EUREKA and the European Science Foundation's EUROCORES programme. Regarding Joint Technology Initiatives, the paper calls for clearer guidelines on the best way to develop and launch these types of initiative. The position paper concludes by underlining the interest within the Romanian research community in participating in the next framework programme, as evidenced by increased levels of interest and participation in FP6 and the promotion of complex projects at national level designed to complement the thematic areas of FP7.
Countries
Romania