The Luxembourg Presidency's research agenda
The Luxembourg Presidency's programme in the research field was outlined on 16 September 1997 by the President-in-Office of the Research Council, Mrs. Erna Hennicot-Schoepges, Luxembourg's Minister for National Education and Vocational Training. The Minister was speaking at a meeting of the European Parliament's Committee on Research, Technological Development and Energy, held in Strasbourg. The Presidency's major efforts, she stated, would focus on defining the content and the means of implementing the Fifth Framework Programme, which would be the cornerstone of Community research efforts in the next few years. Research and development are widely acknowledged to be crucial factors for improving Europe's competitiveness and creating jobs, she noted. Despite the difficulties inherent in the task, the Presidency would make every effort to achieve real progress on the adoption of the Programme, aiming to adhere to the timetable set out, the Minister said. Already, considerable progress has been made in the Council, according to Mrs. Hennicot-Schoepges, who thanked the preceding Dutch Presidency for their efforts on the preparatory work. The May Research Council had adopted conclusions on the objectives, criteria, structure, implementation and management of the programme, with broad agreement between Member States in a range of areas. Detailed examination of the proposals for the six programmes has been undertaken in CREST, the Scientific and Technical Research Committee, and at this stage, according to the Minister, major progress has been made on two of the horizontal programmes, "Innovation and SMEs" and "International cooperation". As regards the thematic programmes, CREST has already completed its first examination of the proposed key actions, and will present its report well in advance of the Research Council on 10 November 1997. However, the innovative nature of the key actions means that they require particular attention, the Minister noted, and for this reason, the Council had requested the Commission to provide more details, in particular on the objectives of the key actions and their links with other activities. The Commission should present this working document in the near future. The Presidency proposes to hold a first discussion on the Programme's budget at the November Council, both on the global figure and on its distribution within the Programme, following the Commission's proposal made at the end of July. Also at the Council meeting, the Presidency hopes to reach conclusions on the management and implementation of the Programme. Although here too, given the innovative nature of the structures proposed by the Commission, the Council has asked for further details, which should be provided by the Commission by the end of September. Research in the nuclear field, would continue to be considered in parallel with the rest of the Framework Programme, the Minister stated. The Council would, she said, discuss the possible scenarios concerning the Fusion programme on the basis of the Commission's options briefing, to be adopted in early October. The prospects for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) will be considered in particular The Minister was confident that the November Research Council would hold constructive discussions and reach clear and concrete conclusions. She felt that the Council was in a good position to reach a common position within the timetable set, and called on the Parliament, for its part, to adopt its opinion as soon as possible. While acknowledging the tightness of the timetable, she hoped that the adoption of the Programme could be completed rapidly. Turning to international cooperation, Mrs. Hennicot-Schoepges emphasized that this would be high on the Council's agenda during the Luxembourg Presidency. The Council would examine strategies for cooperation with third countries, aiming to establish a coherent approach, albeit taking into account the specific conditions of different groups of countries and regions. In particular, the Council would look at cooperation with the Central and Eastern European countries which have applied to join the EU, the Mediterranean partner countries, and developing countries. Also in the field of international cooperation, the Minister noted progress on bilateral agreements with individual third countries. The Agreement with South Africa, signed in 1996, should be definitively concluded before the end of the year, she hoped. Negotiations with the USA, which have been under way for some months, were on the point of achieving concrete results and she believed that the signature of an agreement could take place before the end of the Luxembourg Presidency. Finally, the Council would also be discussing the Commission's proposal to open negotiations with Russia on a scientific and technological cooperation agreement.