Commissioner reassures industry on JTIs
The European Commission's roadmap on Joint Technology Initiatives (JTIs) was an attempt to clarify when and how JTIs will be established, and should not be cause for concern, Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik told representatives from the aerospace sector on 5 December. 'There has been some unrest since we presented our roadmap and I would like to reassure you that there is no need for unrest. The roadmap aimed at clarifying the situation: exactly what are the criteria that we will look into to determine whether a JTI is ready. My aim was transparency,' said Mr Potocnik. The roadmap indicated that, at this stage, two JTIs seem most advanced in preparations: that on innovative medicines and that on embedded computing systems. 'This indication is based on purely technical considerations at a given point of time. But this does not prejudge future developments,' the Commissioner explained. JTIs are expected to be launched for the aeronautics sector, as well as for several others, such as hydrogen and fuel cells, nano-electronics and monitoring the environment and security. 'You can count on the fact that as soon as a convincing proposal is ready I will submit it to the Council. Not sooner, not later,' said Mr Potocnik. The Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) will channel €2.3 billion into aeronautics and air transport. Alongside the planned JTI, funding will go towards collaborative research and the upgrading of research infrastructures. The second call for proposals will address wind tunnels for flight-testing.