FP7: MEPs show support for energy R&D

The Parliament’s industry committee’s report on FP7 reshuffles the programmes internal budget allocation. MEPs give priority to R&D on nuclear and other energy sectors, while cutting support for regional clusters and SMEs by 48%.

Parliament’s ITRE committee adopted, on 30 May 2006, the following budget breakdown proposal for FP7 (compared to the Commission’s initial proposal), to be debated in the first reading in plenary on 15 June 2006:

Co-operation

Ideas

People
  

Capacities  

Non-nuclear action of the Joint Resesarch Centre
 

Analysis of this breakdown shows, percentagewise, somewhat unequal cuts to different programmes, and thus indicates which areas the Parliament considers priorities. 
Non-nuclear funds of the JRC
are cut by only 4% whereas Capacities‘ (research infrastructures, regional co-operation, SME support) funds are cut by 48%. Ideas, the funding for the establishment of the European Research Council, is cut by 37%. 

The Euratom framework programme’s (2007-2011) budget was cut by around 10% from 3 to 2.7 billion euro. Euratom covers research and training activities in the nuclear sector.

The budget allocation for the different research themes in the Co-operation programme is somewhat equally diminished by 30% for all, except little less for energy (18%), socio-economic research (18%) and for food, agriculture and biotechnology (22%). 

The ITRE committee also divided the Space and Security theme to two separate ones and gave green light for the EU to finance research on embryonic stem cells, depending on member states’ legal framework and under strict control. The FP6 has funded some embryonic stem cell research, except in countries, which ban such funding. Commissioner Janez Poto?nik wishes to maintain these guidelines in the FP7, but some member states, namely Austria, Germany, Malta, Poland and Slovakia strongly oppose the EU funding embryonic stem cell research, whereas Italy recently withdrew its opposition.

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