COST Ministerial Conference - Prague, May 1997
Research Ministers from the COST member countries met in Prague, on 26 and 27 May 1997. The COST mechanism for European cooperation in the field of scientific and technical research was established in 1971, and now has 28 members. The focus of the Ministerial Conference, the first since 1991, was on evaluating recent work and on defining COST's future perspectives. In addition a formal session, attended by Commissioner Edith Cresson, the Czech Education Minister and a representative of the Netherlands Presidency of the EU, was held to mark the 25th anniversary of COST. The Conference began by approving three new members, Estonia, Malta and Romania, bringing the total membership to 28. Ministers discussed the COST evaluation report and a report on relations between COST and the EU's research programmes. The Conference proceeded to a discussion on the future of COST, and unanimously adopted a resolution on this. The resolution welcomes the prospect of increased coordination with the Community and calls on the Commission to back this up with appropriate financing and staffing. Furthermore, the resolution invites the COST Senior Officials Committee to continue efforts to: - Promote research cooperation on issues of mutual concern; - Increase efficiency, particularly in respect of COST's structure and procedures; - Take up new and promising initiatives from the scientific community, with emphasis on multi and inter-disciplinary themes; - Improve the assessment, review and management of COST activities; - Increase the impact of COST through improved dissemination and exploitation of COST results; - Intensify coordination with EU research programmes and other European cooperation fora; - Promote public awareness of the value of COST. Commissioner Cresson, responsible for science and research policy in the European Community, presented the European Community's viewpoint to the Conference, particularly in respect of the development of the Fifth RTD Framework Programme and its links with COST. She noted the value of maintaining separate cooperation mechanisms, in particular COST, the Community's Framework Programme and EUREKA. Whilst greater coordination and complementarity could be achieved, the separate structures should not be integrated to the extent that they lose their distinct character. The three mechanisms addressed, in general, different stages in the research process, she pointed out, with COST more concerned with basic research, then the Framework Programme addressing more applied research and EUREKA conducting research close to the market. The proposed "key actions" within the Fifth Framework Programme should be linked with COST and EUREKA, in order that projects addressing these priority areas could benefit from support from more than one of the support mechanisms, Commissioner Cresson suggested. COST had a particular advantage in opening participation in projects to a wider group of members than the Community. It was essential, she concluded to consolidate and improve cooperation between the different European initiatives and groupings within the "European Science and Technology Area". This collaboration should, furthermore, be focused as strongly as possible on meeting the needs of European citizens.