RTD cooperation with the associated countries of Central Europe
A first joint meeting between the Research Ministers of the European Union and Ministers of the Central and East European countries was held in June 1995. Since then efforts have been made to increase RTD cooperation with these countries, both within the framework of the Community's Fourth Framework Programme for research and technological development and through INTAS, the international association for the promotion of cooperation with scientists from the New Independent States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union. Actions conducted since June 1995 have included: - General participation in the projects of the Fourth Framework Programme; - Support to specific projects for scientific and technological cooperation with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the New Independent States (NIS) within the context of the INCO-COPERNICUS programme for cooperation with third countries and international organizations; - Cooperation within the context of the Information Society. The Commission has, in addition, supported conferences, seminars and workshops and has conducted a number of studies on cooperation opportunities with individual countries. Information meetings have been held in all associated Central European countries in order to provide information on the possible forms of collaboration and, in particular, on the INCO-COPERNICUS call. Actions carried out in 1995 have, however, been strongly limited by the low level of the available budget (ECU 14.5 million for collaboration with Central Europe and the New Independent States) and by the fact that, at the request of the Council, most of the available funds have been devoted to INTAS. The third call for proposals for the INCO-COPERNICUS programme was published in October 1995 (OJ No C 271 of 17.10.1995 p. 25). It is the first call under the Fourth Framework Programme. Subject areas covered include: - Endangered ecosystems; - Threats to the environment; - Health; - Non-nuclear energy; - Advanced communications, telematics and language engineering; - Information technology; - Industrial and material technologies; - Measurement and testing; - Biotechnology; - Agro-food; - Economic and social sciences; - Fellow members to the Community Innovation Relay Centres (FEMIRC). Preliminary results of this call show a total of nearly 10,000 applications, of which over half are from CEE and NIS countries. These applications will be examined in detail over the coming months before a final selection is made. With regard to the Information Society, the Commission and the associated countries of Central and Eastern Europe have set up four panels, each chaired by one of the participating countries, to explore opportunities for cooperation in this field. These are: - Panel A: Financing of infrastructure; - Panel B: Legal and institutional framework; - Panel C: Standardization and technical regulations; - Panel D: Cooperation in R&D. All panels met in March 1996 to discuss a report on the specific topics and to formulate recommendations and conclusions which will be further discussed at a general "Forum" meeting to be held in September 1996.