Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-05-14-Speech-2-042"
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"en.20020514.4.2-042"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, this week we have reached a crucial point in the discussion process aimed at the approval of the Sixth Framework Programme, a process that was started under the Swedish Presidency, continued under the Belgian Presidency and taken up by the Spanish Presidency. Parliament has played a very important role in this process, through the Caudron report at the first reading of the Framework Programme. We took many aspects from this first reading for our common position, because the issues and concerns that were aired in Parliament were the very issues and concerns that came to light in the Council and which also surfaced in other discussion groups.
I would also like to thank the Chairman of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy, the rapporteur, Mr Caudron, and the shadow rapporteurs Mr van Velzen, Mr Piétrasanta and Mrs Plooij-van Gorsel, whose cooperation has really enabled us to get to the heart of the matter.
I am convinced that the programme that emerges from this process – and I am confident that tomorrow we will adopt a definitive programme – will be a significant improvement on the first programme we were presented with and a sign, therefore, of the mature and cooperative approach the various institutions have taken to the common position relating to the first reading, but even more with regard to the stimulating process that has taken place under our Presidency.
I believe that the positions of Parliament and the Council are now much closer, and this has been achieved through the desire to respond to scientists’ and companies’ request that we should implement this important instrument, and respond to the mandate we were given at the Barcelona Council that we pull out all the stops to approve the Sixth Framework Programme under our Presidency, and, also – as I said – because the concerns have been very much shared concerns.
The specific aspects relating to content have been more fully developed, such as research issues in health sciences, the question of a greater contribution by the GEANT network, scientific and social issues, research and support on environmental issues, for example. For this reason I would say that, in terms of content, we are now offering a framework programme that is much better defined and will serve as the key element in another great initiative that goes much further than the framework programme, which is the development of the European Area of Research and Innovation.
The Barcelona Council, taking up the commitment made in Lisbon, made a very ambitious commitment which was that, in the year 2010, Europe should reach a level of spending on investment in research and development of 3% of Gross Domestic Product, with a substantial participation, of two thirds, from enterprises in the private sector and from the private sector as a whole. However, the figures are not the most important factor, but rather that we must recognise that Europe must change direction and take a qualitative and quantitative leap in order to achieve this objective of being highly competitive in the knowledge-based society. The Sixth Framework Programme is an essential component of this. However, with the satisfactory development of the Sixth Framework Programme we shall also develop other initiatives, such as better coordination of national programmes, a task we have promoted during our Presidency.
Therefore, particularly in this process, it appears crucial to us to respond effectively to the expectations of the scientific community and companies and reserve, as has been done, active participation for small- and medium-sized companies. For this reason, I thank you once again for your work and I am sure that the other aspects, such as participation rules for specific programmes – will be formalised once the framework programme has been defined.
For our part, the Council has totally supported the Presidency’s initiatives – which we are very pleased about – in the series of discussions we have held. The Council takes particular note of the Commission’s vision and supports the Presidency in including all the amendments that have been tabled en masse, as far as possible, finding the appropriate formulae from within the specific programmes.
The Council totally supports the entire fruitful discussion process we have held."@en1
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