Verheugen makes the case for security research in FP7
'Unwanted overlaps, duplicated funding and fragmented activities' will all be avoided when the EU begins investing in security research under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), EU Enterprise and Industry Commissioner Günter Verheugen told participants at conference on security research in Vienna, Austria on 20 February. 'The Commission is not the EU's 26th Member State,' he added. Among the justifications cited by My Verheugen for including security research in FP7 was a statement by a group of high-level security experts. 'Technology alone cannot guarantee security, but without technology, no security can be guaranteed.' 'We need the newest technologies and comprehensive knowledge, we need a competitively strong and independent European research and industry base and a corresponding market for security solutions,' said Mr Verheugen. The Commissioner has proposed an annual budget of 250 million euro for security research, although a political decision on the budget is yet to be taken. Whatever the budget, the programme will support the EU's security policies and thus provide more security for citizens; and will at the same time promote the innovativeness and competitiveness of security-related industries. Mr Verheugen specified that the defence industry would not be the only one to benefit from the programme. The exact priorities for research are yet to be finalised, and are being discussed within the European Security Research Advisory Board (ESRAB). The board is working on a long term security research strategy for the EU, and comprises representatives from security policy, research and industry from around Europe. ESRAB is working closely with the European Defence Agency in order to ensure that research funded by the EU is consistent, effective and efficient in spite of separate jurisdictions for civil and military security research. 'For concrete research, Member States, together with the Commission, should develop suitable coordination mechanisms in the coming months,' added the Commissioner. Mr Verheugen concluded by drawing attention to the fact that security research, being a relatively new area, is something that the EU Member States can genuinely build up together, without having to tear down old and diverse structures.