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Participation in the Transport Research programme by non-EU Member States

Countries at similar levels of development face many transport problems in common. There is much to be gained by cooperating internationally in research projects aimed at improving transport policy and practice. To put this into practice the transport research programme within...

Countries at similar levels of development face many transport problems in common. There is much to be gained by cooperating internationally in research projects aimed at improving transport policy and practice. To put this into practice the transport research programme within the Fourth Framework Programme has been open to non-EU Member States. In broad terms this means that research organizations from non-EU countries can join EU based consortia on a project-by-project basis when it is in the mutual interest of the participants to do so and there is a clear benefit to the overall objectives of the research. At least two EU Member States or Associated states must take part in the particular project, and one of them must be the consortium leader. Funding of the research itself has traditionally been restricted to the EU Member States and the EFTA countries, who contribute nationally to the Commission's research budget. However, a small fund is available to help the participation of research organizations in European countries in Central and Eastern Europe (Albania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia) and the new independent States of the former Soviet Union (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine). Such non-EU Members States are treated on an equal footing and receive funding to cover the same percentage of their costs as other partners. Indeed research related to the integration of EU Transport networks to the ones of Central and Eastern Europe is one of the priorities of the Transport research programme. The finances for this cooperation come from a distinct part of the Framework Programme dedicated to cooperation with third countries and international organizations. There is as yet no analogous funding under the Fourth Framework Programme for cooperative transport research with developing countries.

Countries

Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Belarus, Czechia, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine