Strong support for Commission’s future R&D policy objectives

Analysis of the stakeholder
consultation shows that Commission’s plans for
future science and research policy are on the right track.

The objective of ‘Making Europe more attractive to the best
researchers’ clearly ranks as the highest with nearly 100 per
cent of  stakeholders considering this priority very
important.   

This is a striking result from the open consultation held
on the Commission’s 16 June 2004 communication on future
European Union policy to support research which gathered reactions
from over 1700 organisations and individuals.

Each of the five other priorities set out in the June
Communication received an equally strong, broad
support. However, space and security related research, the two
additional, specific priorities identified in the Commission’s
communication, received substantially lower support from the
stakeholders, who stressed that such research “must strike the
right balance with fundamental liberties, human rights and social
values”. 

One third of the responses was recieved from individuals
and one fourth from academic world. Most of
the answers were received from Germany (14,9 per cent), the
UK, Italy, Belgim, France and Spain – new member
states being clearly under represented in the overall
statistics.

For more detailed information see   Cordis News on the issue.

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