Revised FP7 proposal: better framework conditions for research

The Commission wants to revise its FP7 proposal to achieve more coherence between national and Community research policies, and to improve the impact of public research and its ties with industry.

Following Parliament’s amendments and Council’s views on the initial proposal, the Commission has tabled a revised proposal for the EU’s future research 2007-2013 (FP7). The revamped proposal is said to “take up in spirit and content, if not necessarily always with the exact wording, to a large proportion the position taken by the other institutions”. 

The unofficial version of the document shows no major content-related changes, but a number of clarifications and additions in many parts, especially in the different individual research themes.

As regards the Capacities programme, the aim of which is to enhance research and innovation capacities in the EU and to ensure their optimal use, the aspects on the coherent development of policies now form a separate title for action, showing Commission’s will to highlight the importance of such integrated approach to advancing European research. Along with supporting SMEs, regions, research infrastructures and linkages between science and society, the revised proposal now has a new chapter, Support to the coherent development of research policies. It states as its objectives “enhancing the effectiveness and coherence of national and Community research policies and their articulation with other policies, improving the impact of public research and its links with industry, and strengthening public support and its leverage effect on investment by private actors”. 

Coherent development of policies implies mobilisation of other policies to create better framework conditions for research. With this regard, the Commission adopted an integrated research and innovation action plan in October 2005 (see EURACTIV 13 October 2005). Activities under this new heading would include monitoring and analysis of research related public policies and industrial strategies, strengthening of the open method of co-ordination (OMC) and supporting trans-national co-operation initiatives on issues of common interest at national or regional level. 

Other modifications and clarifications touch upon, for example, the criteria used to identify potential Joint Technology Initiatives, the European Research Council‘s staffing arrangements and role of its scientific council. Furthermore, the much debated ethical principles, including funding for embryonic stem cell research, are now explained in far greater detail (Article 6) than in the initial proposal. 

Concerning the Parliament’s amendment to separate the Space & Security into two individual themes, the Commission’s preliminary version on the revised FP7 still keeps them together in one theme.

The budget remains that of the revised package for EU programmes in 2007-2013 adopted on 24 May 2006 – 54.58 billion euro.

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