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Trends in Science and Technology Policy
The EU Perspective
on Transatlantic Cooperation
Jorma Routti
Director General DGXII
European Commission
I welcome the opportunity to be here today to explore the opportunities asso-
ciated with the new U.S.-European Union (KU) science and technology (S&T)
agreement. We believe it has rich potential, and we are grateful to the National
Academy of Sciences for hosting this event; after all, a key ingredient in coopera-
tion is knowing your partner. Accordingly, my charge today is to say something
about trends in S&T policy in the European Union, and to do this I will focus on
new themes in the KU' s Fifth Framework Programme for research and develop-
ment. Perhaps the most prominent theme in the Fifth Framework Programme is
the socioeconomic dimension of research and development (R&D). Moving into
the next century, the Fifth Framework Programme hopes to promote R&D that
improves the quality of life of all of our citizens while doing so in an environmen-
tally sustainable way. This involves a interdisciplinary approach to R&D, as we
work as a community to push the frontiers of science and technology and, where
appropriate, with partners across the Atlantic and around the globe.
But before getting into the details of how we hope to accomplish these goals,
let me tell you why we fund collaborative R&D at the level of the European
Community and provide some background on past Framework Programmes.
BENEFITS OF EUROPEAN COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH
In Europe we recognize that we must invest more in research and technol-
ogy. European Union countries spend 1.8 percent of GDP (gross domestic prod-
uct) on civil R&D, as opposed to 2.5 percent in the United States and 2.8 percent
in Japan. There are several reasons why community-wide collaboration in R&D
makes sense:
24
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JORMA ROUITI
25
Bringing together researchers from several EU countries deepens the pool
of research talent in any one project and broadens linkages across borders,
which in turn contributes to R&D dynamism.
An increasing number of research issues, such as climate change and ma-
rine and terrestrial ecosystems, can be carried out effectively only with
trans-national coordination.
· Large-scale research infrastructure is increasing costly, even when dis-
tributed across many EU members.
THE NATURE AND EVOLUTION OF FRAMEWORK PROGRAMMES
The EU's Framework Programme comprises four activities:
research, technology development, and demonstration, which make up 87
percent of all expenditures in the Fourth Framework Programme.
international cooperation in research, which involves partnerships with
non-EU countries and international organizations, builds R&D links to
less developed countries and fosters access of EU countries to cutting-
edge research elsewhere;
· dissemination and exploitation of research, through technology transfer
and monitoring of best R&D practices elsewhere; and
· stimulation of training of researchers through international fellowship pro-
grams.
The First Framework Programme was established in 1984 and initially was
modest in scale; today, the Fourth Framework Programme is three times the size
in real terms of the first program and amounts to 3.5 billion Ecu annually. The
Framework Programme accounts for 4 percent of all civil R&D in the EU and 4
percent of the total European Community budget. In general, the EU's four
Framework Programmes have funded R&D in five areas: energy, life sciences,
environment, industrial materials and technologies, and information and commu-
nications technologies. Research priorities have shifted over the years. Energy
has diminished in relative importance over time, and information and communi-
cations technologies, having peaked in funding in the 1980s, have declined some-
what. Areas such as transportation and socioeconomic research have, in contrast,
experienced funding increases.
THE FIFTH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME:
A NEW STRATEGIC APPROACH
The Fifth Framework Programme, which runs from 1998 to 2002, recog-
nizes that, with the EU rapidly integrating, a broader strategy based on knowl-
edge, innovation, and education and training is necessary. Society faces major
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26
TRENDS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY
issues such as environmental protection and well-being of citizens, in addition to
economic competitiveness. To meet these challenges, concentration and ~Qexibil-
ily have become the key concepts in the Fifth Framework Programme. This means
that the EU plans to become more flexible in the allocation of resources while
focusing on socioeconomic aspects of research and its application, not just tech-
nology.
To adhere to our principles of concentration and flexibility, the Fifth Frame-
work Programme is organized into four thematic programs and three horizontal
programmer, with a budget of 16.3 Ecu over four years. This contrasts with the
Fourth Framework Programme, which involved some 20 separate and specific
research programs. The four thematic areas are life sciences and biotechnology,
user-friendly information technologies, competitive and sustainable growth of
industries, and energy and environment.
To maximize returns, the objective is to concentrate on a limited number of
objectives in order to strengthen the EU's S&T base. This involves a focus on
generic R&D and support of the research infrastructure throughout the European
Community. In our planned research on information technologies, we seek to
develop next-generation digital services that improve citizens' access to govern-
ment services and deliberation. It also means developing multimedia content and
tools that enable cultural and linguistic diversity while encouraging electronic
publishing.
For sustainable growth our objective is to improve land transport and marine
technologies in order to move people and goods more efficiently. Our plan also
calls for improvement in air traffic control technologies. (For a detailed list of
thematic areas, I recommend the paper I have with me today on the Fifth Frame-
work Program, coauthored with William Cannell; see Appendix).
The three horizontal programs, which are designed to complement the the-
matic ones, are international cooperation, promotion of innovation and participa-
tion of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and improving training and mobil-
ity of researchers.
If we refer to the agenda for this conference, we see how nicely the thematic
areas in the Fifth Framework Programme fit. Our general topic here is interna-
tional cooperation, and we have separate sessions tomorrow on SMEs and the
internationalization of the technical work force.
THE SOCIAL DIMENSION
Let me conclude by underscoring an important theme from the Fifth Frame-
work Programme socio-economic research. We do maintain our focus on the
natural sciences and technology, but we have a new emphasis on the socioeco-
nomic dimensions of science and technology. As technology becomes a more
pervasive part of all our lives, it is important to acknowledge how social, behav-
ioral, and economic factors work together to shape the development and applica
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27
lions of technology. By recognizing these interrelated factors the European Union
wants to make science and technology do more for the quality of life of its citi-
zens, while leaving a healthy planet for our children and grandchildren. We have
a broad range of topics for potential cooperation that we will explore today and
tomorrow. I look forward both to the discussions on substantive topics and the
expanded cooperation that will result.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
fifth framework
