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Research Council reaches political agreement on FP6

The Research Council reached a political agreement on the Commission's proposals for the Sixth Framework programme (FP6) on 10 December, reaching a compromise on the budgets for the thematic priorities and defining a clearer role for the Commission's Joint Research Centre. Agr...

The Research Council reached a political agreement on the Commission's proposals for the Sixth Framework programme (FP6) on 10 December, reaching a compromise on the budgets for the thematic priorities and defining a clearer role for the Commission's Joint Research Centre. Agreements on the structure, the priorities, new instruments and the Euratom programme were also reached, although the German delegation abstained from the Euratom agreement. During the Council, the EU's Research Ministers also heard presentations from Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin on the Commission's science and society action plan, which will be re-examined by the Council during the Spanish Presidency, due to begin on 1 January 2002. They also heard a report by the Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA) on closer relations between the two bodies, which will also be re-examined during the first quarter of 2002. A common position on the Framework programme will be adopted at the next Council, following which a clarified text will be sent to the European Parliament. The Euratom programme will be finalised with a view to formal adoption at another time, together with the Framework programme. 'The Council has today taken a major step by arriving at a political agreement and I am particularly happy that this should have been achieved on the hundredth anniversary of the Nobel Prize ceremony. I am obviously very satisfied that the structure of the Framework programme, the priorities and the principle of financing research projects using new funding instruments have been retained. This decision is also an indispensable step on the way to the creation of a European research area,' said Mr Busquin. Several minor changes were made by the Council to the Commission's revised proposal, rewritten following a vote for amendments in the European Parliament, on the division on the 16,270 million euro allocated for FP6. The Council agreed that the budget for sustainable development and global change priority, should be increased to 2100 million euro from 1850 million euro, with all three of the action lines sustainable energy systems, sustainable surface transport and global change and ecosystems seeing an increase to the Commission's proposed budgets. The Council agreed on a reduction of the budget for specific activities covering a wider field of research and also removed the JRC's activities from this sub-heading. 'Non-nuclear activities by the JRC' was removed from this section by the Council and now stands alone as a separate action under 'integrating research'. The amount put aside for anticipating the EU's scientific and technological fields was reduced from 800 million euro to 570 million euro by the Council. The Research Ministers also agreed that more funding should be awarded to research infrastructures and for supporting the coordination of activities. Representing Greece, the Minister for development, Apostolos-Athanasios Tsochatzopoulos told CORDIS News that he supported the thematic priorities proposed by the Commission and agreed by the Council as 'they have to do with everyday European people, in the environment, health, education, quality of life etc.' He also stressed the importance of the action line on specific research activities for SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises), saying that it is 'the most important programme as small and very small entrepreneurial companies have a very special position.' Mr Tsochatzopoulos said that the Council had had 'some difficulties' in reaching an agreement, but added that FP6 is a very ambitious programme. The Research Ministers recalled the necessity of eliminating barriers to researcher mobility and reiterated its intention to eliminate these barriers. The Council invited the Commission to give full intention to this issue and also to promote equality between the sexes and increase the contribution of young scientists to research. The Commission should also ensure that the candidate countries are clearly associated with the conception and implementation of mobility actions and complete an annual report on the progress achieved on its strategy to increase the mobility of researchers. On space, the Council invited the Commission to explore the possibility of elaborating a framework agreement between the European Community (EC) and ESA and to come forward with a proposal for a negotiating mandate as soon as possible. The ministers also agreed that an informal meeting of the Council of the European Union and of the Council of ESA at ministerial level should take place before the end of 2002 to discuss issues related to the development of the European space policy.

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