The EU’s Research Framework Programme 2007-2013

On 6 April, the European Commission presented its proposal for the Seventh Research Framework Programme 2007-2013 (FP7). The proposal, which is now to be debated by the Council and the European Parliament, provides new impetus to increase Europe’s growth and competitiveness and places greater emphasis than in the past on research that is relevant to the needs of European industry. Subtitled “Building the European research area of knowledge for growth”, FP7 is designed to respond to the competitiveness and employment needs of the EU. The Commission proposes to double the FP7 budget compared with FP6, i.e. EUR 67.8 billion over the period 2007-2013.

FP7 will be organised in four specific programmes:

- “cooperation”, where the objective is to gain European leadership in key areas through co-operation of industry and research institutions;

- “ideas”, which will stimulate excellence and creativity in basic research through the creation of a new European Research Council;

- “people”, which will support researcher training and career development through a further enhanced « Marie Curie » scheme, promoting public-private career paths and mobility;

- “capacities”, which will deliver a strengthened infrastructures programme.

Although there is a strong element of continuity with the past in the proposed 7° Framework Programme, it nevertheless places greater emphasis on research that is relevant to the needs of European industry and that help it compete internationally and develop its role as a world leader in certain sectors. The programme will also for the first time provide support for the best in European research, with the creation of a European Research Council. A main priority of the Commission’s proposal will be to make participation in the programme simpler and easier through measures such as rationalising the funding schemes, using simpler and less bureaucratic languages, reducing the number and size of documents, reducing the number of requests to participants and increasing the autonomy of consortia. For more information, MEMO/05/114 is available on RAPID. The objective is to adopt the FP7 by June 2006.

 

News from the institutions

End of the road for the European Constitution

Last Sunday, following a bitter election campaign, the French rejected the European Constitutional Treaty in a referendum in which 70% of the electorate voted, with 54.87% voting against and 45.13% in favour. France has thus become the first Member State to pronounce against the European Constitution, while nine countries out of 25, representing about half of the population of the EU, have already approved it. The victory of the “non” vote resulted from the massive – albeit heterogeneous – mobilisation of political and social forces ranging from the extreme Right to the far Left, and including members of alternative globalisation movements, NGOs, trade unions, uncompromising upholders of national sovereignty and the Communist Party, as well as several dissident Socialist leaders. European Council President Jean-Claude Juncker cast doubts on the possibility of reconciling, in the French “non” camp, the disparate interests of those who are calling for a more “social” Europe and those who want a less “social” Europe or basically no Europe at all.

On 1 st June, barely three days after the French rejection, the Dutch electorate massively voted against ratification of the constitutional text. The referendum in the Netherlands was consultative in nature, but the government had announced that it would respect its result, subject to two conditions, i.e. a turnout of at least 30% and an “unambiguous” result. Since 61.6% of voters said “no” while only 38.4% voted in favour, and given that turnout was in the region of 63.4%, the Dutch Parliament, which has the last word on the matter, is expected to defer to the negative opinion of the people, in spite of the fact that a majority of MPs have previously endorsed the Treaty.

Be this as it may, the ratification process, which must be completed by 2006 at the latest (the plan is – or was – for the Constitution to come into force on 1 st January 2009), seems set to continue – and this is so for two good reasons: the right of every country to express its opinion and the difficulty of interpreting the French vote, which was determined by so many contradictory factors. In a joint statement, Josep Borrell, Jean-Claude Juncker and José Manuel Durão Barroso have said that the European institutions will also have to reflect, sooner rather than later, on the results of the overall ratification process.

For more information, visit: http://europa.eu.int/constitution/ratification_en.htm .

Two equal opportunities programmes to be extended until 2006

By adopting the report of Greek EMP Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou on 26 May last, the European Parliament has endorsed the extension of the equal opportunities programme as well as of the action programme to promote organisations active in this area at European level. Both programmes will be extended until the end of 2006, pending the adoption of the future Progress programme from 2007 onwards. €11.5 million have been allocated for 2006, i.e. an additional €1.5 million for the gender equality programme and an additional €1.1 million for the programme to promote European organisations. The European Parliament is also requesting the Commission to include appropriate budgetary provisions for the two gender equality programmes in the new financial perspectives for the 2007-2013 period. For additional information, read Report A6-0132/2005 , available on: http://www.europarl.eu.int.

Report on “Services Directive” published

The draft report by Socialist MEP Evelyne Gebhardt on services in the internal market has been submitted to the members of the European Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection. The first part of the report, presented on 19 April last, introduces amendments to two essential points of the Commission’s original text: the directive’s scope of application and the “country of origin principle”. Ms Gebhardt proposes eliminating this principle as a basic rule of future legislation and replacing it with the principle of “mutual recognition”, which would apply to services provided to business companies. The report also introduces the “country of destination principle” (which would basically apply to services provided to consumers) and, for certain services, the report recommends harmonising national laws. Finally, according to the rapporteur, other services should be excluded from the directive, among them, in the first place, so-called services of general interest (SGIs), for which Ms Gebhardt advocates a framework directive in order to enable Member States to define what is understood by SGIs, among other key aspects.

In introducing the changes, Ms Gebhardt subsequently had to completely rewrite the Commission’s text in order to ensure its consistency and clearness. The new amendments submitted on 24 May concern the explanatory part of the text. They mainly involve clarifying the notions of “country of origin principle” and “mutual recognition”, explaining the specificity of SGIs in more detail and emphasising the right of the Member State where the service is provided to exercise certain forms of control (principle of control by the recipient country). This principle is highlighted in Ms Gebhardt’s report, which insists on the importance of this right. The Commission had originally proposed that the recipient country should respond as soon as possible, and within a pre-established deadline, to any application for authorisation to provide a service. Once the deadline is expired, the service provider would be able to conduct business without any further impediment. The rapporteur recommends eliminating this provision. Another major change concerns the list of national practices which, according to the Commission, hinder the free provision of services and should therefore be prohibited. Ms Gebhardt suggests eliminating certain rules and measures from the list since in her view they form part of a coherent set of regulations in the relevant Member States, so that abolishing them might undermine social cohesion. The deadline for the submission of amendments has been set for 10 June with a view to enabling the European Parliament to vote on the proposed text at the EP plenary session in October, after a first reading. For further information, visit: http://www.europarl.eu.int/comparl/imco/services_directive/default_en.htm.

 

News from the networks

European regions and cities call for more decentralisation

The Summit of European Regions and Cities, which was held in Wroclaw (Poland) on 19-20 May 2005 on the initiative of the EU Committee of the Regions, brought together some 300 local and regional elected representatives from around Europe. In a declaration adopted at the summit, participants stressed that decentralisation is the key to the success of EU policies aimed at promoting cohesion and strengthening democracy in Europe. The declaration of the representatives of European regions, cities and municipalities who were present in Wroclaw is structured around four themes: strengthening democracy in the EU and its Member States; the importance of decentralisation to boost the competitiveness of the European economy as well as employment; support for a strong cohesion policy based on solidarity and capable of contributing to economic growth and competitiveness; and, lastly, a call for citizens to ratify the Constitutional Treaty since it includes a number of provisions – including recognition of local and regional autonomy – conducive to greater democracy. For more information on the summit, visit: http://www.cor.eu.int/en/index.htm. To read the declaration, go to: http://www.cor.eu.int/document/Highlight/final_en.pdf

 

Funding opportunities

Education programme on diplomacy and human rights

The European Roma Information Office and the DiploFoundation have launched a call for applications for their education programme which offers diplomacy and human rights training to Eastern European professionals. It will consist of 2 or 3 residential workshops and 2 online learning phases and will combine skills training, study of diplomacy and human rights advocacy related topics, and individual and collaborative research. The programme is aimed at those working in Roman rights, diplomacy or human rights and who are degree educated or have at least three years relevant work experience. Preference for funding will be given to Roma applicants in the 25 – 35 year age group, to female applicants, and to applicants from Eastern Europe. The deadline for applications is 15 June. For more information contact roma@diplomacy.edu, website http://www.diplomacy.edu/roma

Judicial cooperation in civil matters

The European Commission has invited European non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to submit applications for funding from the EU framework programme for judicial cooperation in civil matters. Grants will be awarded to projects that support the objectives of the framework programme such as promoting judicial cooperation in civil matters; improving Member States’ knowledge of each other’s legal and judicial systems in civil matters; ensuring the sound use of EU measures in the area of civil judicial cooperation and improving public information on access to justice, judicial cooperation and Member States’ civil legal systems. The indicative budget available for 2005 is 3 750 000 euros . The closing date for submissions is 29 July and application forms can be downloaded from: http://europa.eu.int/comm/justice_home/funding/civil_cooperation/funding_civil_cooperation_en.htm. Call for proposals OJ C123, 21 May 2005.

Information Society Technologies

The European Commission has just published a call for proposals concerning indirect RTD actions under the specific programme for research, technological development and demonstration: “Integrating and Strengthening the European Research Area”. The proposed actions are to focus on Information Society Technologies (TSI) . Total indicative b udget:638 million euros. Applicants are invited to submit their p roposals for indirect RTD actions (only in electronic format) by 21 September 2005. For more information, contact: European Commission, Directorate-General INFSO, IST Information Desk, BU31 1/19, B-1049 Brussels, E-mail: ist@cec.eu.int, Website: http://www.cordis .lu/ist. OJ C 116/10 of 18 May 2005.

LIFE 2005- 2006: first calls for proposals

The Commission invites organisations legally constituted in the EU and candidate countries associated to LIFE (currently Romania) to present proposals for the 2005-2006 selection round of LIFE-Nature and the LIFE-Environment Demonstration projects. LIFE-Nature projects (conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora of Community and international interest) shall be submitted to the national competent authorities at the latest by 30 September 2005. National authorities may change the national submission deadline. Projects will then be submitted by the national authorities to the Commission at the latest by 31 October 2005. LIFE-Environment Demonstration projects (development of innovative and integrated techniques and methods, integration of environmental and sustainable development considerations into land-use development and planning, waste and water management, clean technologies, product policy ) shall be submitted to the national competent authorities at the latest by 30 September 2005. National authorities may change the national submission deadline. Projects will then be submitted by the national authorities to the Commission at the latest by 30th November 2005. The application files for 2006 LIFE-Environment Demonstration and LIFE-Nature are already available at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/life/funding/index.htm. An additional call for proposals, covering up to 20 % of the 2006 budget for LIFE-Nature, will be launched in Autumn 2005, to support the preparation of long-term national plans for the period 2007-2013; this call will be aimed at Member States' national authorities in charge of implementing Natura 2000. It is anticipated that the call for LIFE-Environment Preparatory Actions will be uploaded on the LIFE website by mid June and the one for LIFE-Third countries by the end of June.

 

Forthcoming events

31 May – 5 June 2005, throughout Europe

All European cities and towns are invited to join the European Commission’s initiative “Urban Green Days” (UGD). This consists of local actions which will take place within the framework of the Brussels European Green Week (31 May to 3 June) as well as on World Environment Day (5 June). UGD 2005 will particularly highlight climate change, focusing on such issues as sustainable transport systems, energy efficiency and renewable energies. All the actions carried out during UGD 2005 will be presented on the website http://www.ur bangreendays.org. An on-line registration form is available for cities interested in taking part in the event. To find out more, contact: ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, European Secretariat, Leopoldring 3, 79098 Freiburg / Germany, Tel. +49 761 36 89 2 -63, Fax: +49 761 36 89 2-29 E-mail: urbangreendays@i clei-europe.org

15 June 2005, Luxembourg (LU)

An Information Day on the programme eContentplus will be held in Luxembourg on 15 June. The event will be dedicated to a detailed presentation of the programme and its first call for proposal. eContenplus aims at making digital content in Europe more accessible, usable and exploitable. It is expected that a call will be launched in June 2005, with a deadline for proposals in November 2005. Participants wishing to present their project ideas at bilateral sessions with EC officials should fill in the bilateral meeting request form and send it by Wednesday 8 June to: econtentplus@cec.eu.int The meeting will take place in English without interpretation. For further information: http://europa.eu.int/information_society/activities/econtentplus/index_en.htm

16-17 June 2005, Lille (FR)

ANIS (“Association Nord Internet Solidaire” – North Association for Internet Solidarity) presents ROUMICS 2005 (“Rencontres Ouvertes du Multimédia et de l’Internet Citoyen et Solidaire” – Open meetings on multimedia and for an Internet based on active citizenship and solidarity).  This year’s ROUMICS, which will take place in Lille on 16-17 June, will be structured around a seminar entitled “ICTs, social and professional development support, employment and training”. The seminar aims to enable participants to gain a better understanding of the role of ICTs in promoting integration in society and the labour market. During the second day of the event, participants will visit the company Triselec to learn about the social integration initiatives in which it is involved. Registration fee: €10 for individuals, €20 for associations and €50 for companies and local government administrations. For more information, visit: http://www.roumics.com

 

Publications

National Trends in the Bologna Process

Eurydice, the information network on education in Europe, has just published a new study, “ Focus on the structure of higher education in Europe 2004/2005. National Trends in the Bologna Process”, which reports on how the organisation of higher education is evolving in the 40 countries signatory to the Bologna Declaration. More specifically, the study assesses progress towards each of the following aims of the Bologna Process: the adoption of a two-cycle structure (B achelor/Master), the incorporation of doctoral programmes as the third cycle, the introduction of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS), the provision of the Diploma Supplement and the establishment of a system for quality evaluation . The report is available on: http://www.eurydice.org/Publication_List/en/FrameSet.htm.

Cities and regions in the EU

“Lobbying for cities and regions in the European Union”, a new book by political scientist Dr Pascal Goergen, who is a specialist in regional policies as well as the representative of the Brussels-Capital Region to the European Union, examines the position of cities and regions in relation to EU decision-making processes. The book is a practical tool for all local and regional actors in both the EU and the candidate countries. Prefaced by former EU Commissioner Michel Barnier, it has been published in French and will soon be available also in English. For additional information, e-mail: info@goergen.be or visit: http://www.goergen.be/fr-publications.htm.

 New LEADER+ website

The new website of the LEADER+ initiative for rural development is now operational. The site enables users to find information about individuals and organisations participating in the programme, whether at European, national or local level. It also includes an “Events” section, information on the implementation of LEADER+ in the 25 Member States, the programme’s publications and useful reference documents, in addition to providing access to an interactive tool to search for partners. Visit: http://europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/rur/leaderplus/index_en.htm

 

Announcements

Director of East Midlands European Office

The East Midlands European Office (EMEO) is managed by the East Midlands Development Agency on behalf of a wider regional partnership. The Office represents the interests of the East Midlands (UK) in Brussels and delivers a professional and reliable service, which enables its partners to be well informed and influential in their dealings with Europe. The overall purpose of the Director’s role is to drive the EMEO partnership in order to maximise European opportunities for the region and to raise awareness and significantly enhance the East Midlands regional presence in Brussels.  With an economic development related degree or equivalent, he/she has experience of working in both public and private sector environments. For an application pack, call: +44 (0)115 9888 455 or see the website: http://www.emda.org.uk . C losing date: Friday 17th June 2005.

 

 

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Responsible at Law: William Van Dingenen - Editor in Chief: Isabelle Mirambet - Editors: Monique Braem, Eirini Nikolaïdou, Verónica Catediano, Maylis Campbell.