Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-02-24-Speech-4-008"
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"en.20050224.3.4-008"2
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"Mr President, I shall open the discussion on behalf of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy. I welcome Commissioner Potočnik here today. There is a great deal of goodwill towards the Commissioner and the Commission as a whole with regard to the Seventh Framework Programme, as demonstrated by the speed with which the committee has conducted its business on the Locatelli report. I hope the Commission will build upon this goodwill and not dissipate it.
The research community and the wider community expect a great deal from the Seventh Framework Programme, as it is seen as a crucial part of the Lisbon strategy for strengthening the European economy. Research and development are key elements in that process. Therefore, it is all the more important for us to get this right.
Commissioner, the purpose behind this oral question today is to give you the opportunity to share some thoughts with us before making your proposal to the Council and Parliament on how research is to be funded. It seems to us that the crucial question relates to the doubling of expenditure on the research programme within the overall EU budget. Can this fine ambition be achieved? How it is going to be achieved? We are looking with keen anticipation to you, Commissioner, to tell us how you think you are going to achieve that.
Bearing in mind the existence of the 'one per cent club' of Member States who wish to keep European-level spending within an overall cap of one per cent of GDP, I want to offer some suggestions as to ways in which spending on research might be increased at a European level, without necessarily breaching that one per cent cap, and given that there seems to be no lack of goodwill on the part of Member States to spend more on research.
The first suggestion is that the proposals for the spending programme with regard to research on security should be funded by the Member States at European level, but outside the Seventh Framework Programme. Therefore, it would not count as part of the relevant budget item.
Secondly, I see great potential for using part of the Cohesion Fund for directing research spending to the new Member States, and I hope you will be sympathetic to that suggestion, Commissioner.
Now for the third suggestion. Mr Mayor Oreja heads a special working group on the European Research Council, which has suggested that an independent body of scientists should take the programme of research forward, and that this should happen on the basis of excellence and scientific merit. Quite a substantial budget has been proposed for this, totalling EUR 2 billion a year once the working-up phase is complete. That will take a huge slice of the existing framework budget. I would therefore suggest that Member States should also consider funding that outside the context of the Seventh Framework Programme.
I hope we will take on board a number of the suggestions in the Marimon report. One of the most frequently-voiced concerns about our research activities at European level is the complexity and burden involved in the administrative procedures and regulations relating to the funds, which make it very difficult for small- and medium-sized enterprises and small research entities to access the funds and take part in the programmes. We all pay at least lip service to this. Even when were debating the Fourth Framework Programme, there was a great deal of concern about that. We talk about it; let us hope this time, Commissioner, you are able to do something about it.
The objective of pursuing excellence above all else is crucial to achieving successful research at European level. I look forward to your comments about how we fund all this with keen interest, Commissioner."@en1
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