By Jerzy Buzek MEP is the rapporteur on the 7th Framework Programme and a former Polish prime minister - 14th November 2005
Jerzy Buzek MEP explains what is needed for the future of the European Research Area.
It was January 2000 when the then European Commissioner for Research, Philippe Busquin, put forward the idea of creating the European Research Area, integrating and strengthening the research and technology development at European level. Since then, many initiatives have been implemented through the 6th Framework Programme.
There were large integrated projects introduced which aimed at solving the critical technological problems faced by Europe. There were also significant efforts to integrate research activities at national and European level.
Therefore, the specialised Networks of Excellence were formed, integrating and linking activities of key players coming from academia and industry in particular research areas.
This interesting initiative allowed several countries to carry out joint research activities through a system of so-called ERA-Nets.
Today, Europe is facing important challenges resulting from global competition not only with the US and Japan but also with countries like China or India.
Additional problems in the fields of environment, energy or health have recently appeared. In this context, the objectives imposed by the Lisbon strategy seem to gain further significance: Europe must invest more in research and a much stronger effort is needed to progress towards the objective of investing three per cent of its GDP in research by 2010.
To pave the way towards obtaining these goals, the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) for the years 2007-2013 has been proposed, with a budget of almost €73 billion.
FP7 represents further consolidation of the European research area, achieving critical mass and structures in new areas of research and further supporting the free movement of ideas, knowledge and researchers.
However, it is clear that Europe does not perform well in terms of truly outstanding research or mastering new fast-growing areas of science.
We need a specialised programme that will provide such a pan-European mechanism to support the truly creative scientists, engineers and scholars.
It is expected that their curiosity and thirst for knowledge are most likely to make the unpredictable and spectacular discoveries that can change the course of human understanding, open up new areas for technological progress or solve critical social and environmental problems.
Such strategic activities are called “frontier research”. They involve the pursuit of fundamental advances in science, technology and engineering, without regard for established disciplinary boundaries or national borders.
In this new concept of financing frontier research, the projects will be carried out by research teams, either individually or in partnership, competing at European level, in all scientific and technological fields, including engineering, socio-economic sciences and the humanities.
They will produce new knowledge, although it may not necessarily be immediately applicable. This means that, contrary to its predecessors, the FP7 will finance projects proposed and selected through the “bottom-up” approach, according to the demand of researchers themselves.
In response to these needs, the European Commission has proposed establishing an autonomous European Research Council (ERC).
It will be the first time ever that a body like this exists at European level. The European Parliament, as well as the scientific community, welcomed the commission’s proposal to establish the ERC.
Due the scale of this new initiative, the ERC is likely to be created through a two-step procedure. After a two-year transitional period, the ERC would become a fully independent body, having its own legal identity and taking legal responsibility for all its actions.
The process of establishing the ERC is ongoing. My personal feeling is that the ERC should be composed of two bodies: one responsible for scientific activities (a scientific council) and the other for administration.
The scientific council should be appointed by the scientific community and should be part of the ERC for a limited period of time.
The second, administrative, body should assume the legal responsibility of the ERC and guarantee the projects’ smooth execution.
I would like to highlight an aspect that I consider of great importance if European frontier research is to be a success: the involvement of young people.
There are many extremely talented young people in Europe, and although many of them are often attracted by the challenges of a career in scientific research, in the end they are often attracted by other disciplines.
These young people should be encouraged, and we need to make sure that they understand the benefits of committing to a career in research.
They need special support in the initial phases of their scientific career. I will push for the introduction of special support programmes for young researchers in the projects carried out by the ERC.
I would also like to pinpoint the fact that it will be impossible to carry out any of the initiatives mentioned above without a guaranteed FP7 budget.
Member states must clearly show their commitment to the Lisbon objectives and guarantee proper funding for the research. This would permit a smooth introduction of the 7th Framework Programme in 2007.
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