Mr Chairman, honourable Members of Parliament, it
is an honour to be here to speak with you today.
The UK Presidency comes at a time when the European Union is facing
several important challenges. At a time when Europe is working hard to
define its position in the global knowledge economy and when the
challenges and competition from other parts of that global economy have
never been greater.
At this time there can be no doubt as to the importance of the EU to the
UK. As outlined by the UK Prime Minister, Mr Blair, in his opening
address to the European Parliament at the beginning of our Presidency,
we hope to make progress on far reaching strands of work over the next 6
months. The UK will make as much progress as possible on Future
Financing. In full cooperation with the Commission and EP, we shall
undertake a period of consultation with partners to find a way forward
on this dossier. We will also seek a consensus on a general review of
the EU budget structure and priorities. We need to make progress in the
area of economic reform. We will aim to work in collaboration with all
25 Member States to establish a Europe better able to create jobs and
with higher living standards. This can be achieved by promoting the
knowledge society, strengthening the internal market, improving the
business climate and driving through the Lisbon agenda.
Research, innovation and education are cornerstones to the success of
the re-launched Lisbon Strategy. Key priorities for the next six months
are therefore the Seventh Research Framework Programme and the
Competitiveness and Innovation Programme.
An excellent relationship between you, in the European Parliament, and
ourselves in the Council is absolutely crucial if we are to take forward
the Lisbon agenda successfully. This is why we look forward to
continuing the tradition of close cooperation between the European
Parliament and Council that has significantly enhanced the efficiency of
the co-decision procedure.
In this context we look forward to the next six months. I will now give
more detail on the issues concerning my responsibilities in the research
sector.
I feel that the European dimension of research has been one of the less
heralded aspects of European development. Nevertheless, it has in many
ways been a notable success story, and one which deserves to be
highlighted more than it generally is.
Over the past two decades and more, through a series of Framework
Programmes, the EU has steadily reinforced its efforts to promote and
support research activity. As a result, Europe has made serious steps
towards the establishment of a genuine internal market for science and
technology. So today the European Research Area is now a great deal more
than just a high-sounding slogan.
However, more action is still required to make the EU an attractive
place for business to invest in research and we will aim to put in place
the right Framework Programme to stimulate such investment, in order to
create the right climate for innovation in Europe. I can reassure
members that every means at the UK Presidency’s disposal will be
directed towards building on the progress made under the Luxembourg
Presidency on key areas of the Commissions proposal on FP7 so that this
crucial instrument of Community research policy is ready by 2007.
Assuming that the envisaged timetable is maintained by the Commission,
the UK Presidency intends to open discussions also on the specific
programmes and the Rules for Participation. The UK Presidency is
committed to a constructive dialogue with the EP with a view to
facilitating as speedy an adoption of the seventh Framework Programme as
possible.
To launch the UK Presidency in the area of ‘research’, fruitful informal
discussions have already been held on certain key topics on European
R&D, which will undoubtedly feed into the formal Council deliberations.
On Monday this week I met with Research Ministers from across the EU at
our Informal Council in Cardiff. Discussions centred on four key issues
relating to the Framework Programme: the independence and scientific
integrity of the envisaged European Research Council; how to improve
business involvement in collaborative research and knowledge transfer;
developing the potential of less research-intensive countries; and the
best way to encourage participation of SMEs in the seventh Framework
Programme. We also addressed as a horizontal theme simplification of the
Framework Programme, something the research community tell us is one of
their key priorities. Our aim in these discussions was to make the
Framework 7 programme as useful and valuable to scientists and
industrialists as possible. As we take forward the negotiations on the
Financial Perspectives, it is important that Framework 7 is seen as
essential to the future success of European industry and the quality of
our lives and not as an optional add-on.
Alun Michael will talk to you later about how we plan to take forward
work on the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme. All I want to
emphasise here it that clearly we will seek to make sure that it
complements FP7 and provides effective support to high growth innovative
SMEs.
We look forward to the forthcoming Commission Communication on the 3%
Action Plan for investing in research with a view to stepping up efforts
in this area. Actions at the national level are clearly important and we
will in October be hosting a Conference on the coordination of national
research and development programmes to consider how Member States can
better integrate the planning of their national research programmes
toward achieving common objectives.
We are also looking forward to the upcoming work
over the next six months on the Framework Agreement between the European
Community and the European Space Agency.
Finally we would like to welcome the agreement
between the six parties for sitting the ITER experimental reactor in
Cadarache, negotiated by Commission for the Community. This is not just
a good outcome for the EU but for the whole world. It is, we believe, a
significant step towards a world of safe, clean, abundant energy. We are
now waiting for the Commission to finalise the draft international
agreement on ITER and submit proposals for Council decisions approving
this agreement as well on the setting up of a European Legal Entity to
manage European participation in the project. This is an extremely
important project and it is essential that it is now managed on the
basis of a tight timetable and with the clear aim of producing
commercial electricity as soon as possible.
Europe is facing major global challenges, with
long-term implications, in the policy areas covered by this Committee
and the “Competitiveness” Council, but the Presidency look forward to
continuing the excellent co-operation that has prevailed so far between
this Committee and the Council, for the benefit of European citizens and
for researchers, investors and entrepreneurs.
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