Parliament's Research Committee adopts report on additional funding for Framework Programmes
The European Parliament's Committee for Research, Technological Development and Energy adopted a report on the adaptation of the Fourth RTD Framework Programme and the Euratom Framework Programme at its meeting in Brussels on 30 May 1996. The Commission's proposal for the programmes' review, on which a decision must be taken by 30 June 1996, recommends a number of amendments in relation to additional funding of ECU 700 million for the remaining period of the programmes (until 30 December 1998). Of this, ECU 595 million would go to the Fourth Framework Programme, and ECU 105 million to the Euratom Framework Programme. While the Committee has not changed the global amount of additional funding, MEPs voted to alter the priorities for funding within the programmes. In particular, the Committee proposes shifting ECU 10 million of the additional funding from the Euratom Framework Programme to the Fourth Framework Programme. For the Fourth Framework Programme, the Commission proposes an addition of ECU 570 million to the First Activity (research, technological development and demonstration) and ECU 25 million to the Second Activity (cooperation with third countries and international organizations). The Committee voted to move some ECU 50 million of the additional funding from the First Activity to the Third Activity (dissemination and optimization of results), as well as increasing the additional funding for the Second Activity by ECU 15 million. Within the First Activity, MEPs voted to place a higher priority on the following specific RTD programmes: Environment and Climate, Biotechnology, and Biomedicine and Health. Lower priority was given to the Transport and Telematics Applications specific programmes. The Commission's proposal introduces eight priority areas for research activities, corresponding to the research/industry task forces established in 1995. MEPs voted to reduce the priority sectors for additional funding to three of these: aeronautics, educational multimedia, and environment/water. In addition, a special project for research on the location and destruction of mines would be introduced. As regards the Euratom Framework Programme, the Commission's proposal of an additional ECU 105 million would go to nuclear fission safety activities. The Committee would reduce this by ECU 10 million, following the amendment to increase the Fourth Framework Programme funding by this amount. The Committee's report will now be considered by the full Parliament, and should be adopted at its plenary session in June. The proposals will then be considered by the Council of Ministers at the Research Council scheduled for 19 June 1996.