Ebook: A New Deal for an Effective European Research Policy: The Design and Impacts of the 7th Framework Programme

More than a century ago Louis Pasteur observed that “Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world”. His remark has all the more resonance today with the increasing globa- sation of science, technology, and commerce. But it also underlines an important truth: that science has always advanced most rapidly when it is a collective endeavour, with a strong circulation of knowledge. When it comes to forging cooperation in research, Europe has an impressive track record. This year, the European Union’s Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development celebrates its 20th birthday. It is the world’s largest programme in support of transnational research, promoting cooperation, coor- nation, and mobility across borders. The year 2007 will see the launch of the 7th Framework Programme, the biggest and most ambitious so far. This book will show how the new Framework Programme was put together and explain why it took the shape it did. It will also set out its potential impacts and the conditions necessary for it to be a success. In the challenging new global economy, knowledge is Europe’s most valuable resource, and I am convinced that, with its unprecedented scale and scope, the 7th Framework Programme is the right strategy for a Europe that wants to progress towards a knowledge-based economy. However, the Framework Programme is only a very modest part of total public R&D spending in Europe, the bulk of which is carried out by national governments.

The 7th Framework Programme will be the most ambitious Programme to date, unprecedented in scope and scale, and signals a stronger role for European research. But, the new Framework Programme represents just a small part of total public spending on R&D in the EU, the bulk of which is carried out by the national and regional authorities. Clearly, on its own, it cannot solve all Europe’s problems. What is needed, this book argues, is a New Deal for research in Europe. This New Deal would involve the mobilisation of policy actors across all levels-–regional, national and European-–and their commitment to develop a more effective research system in Europe based on actions at the level where they have the greatest impact.

This book presents, from a viewpoint inside the European Commission, the nuts and bolts of how EU research policy is actually designed. It also provides a comprehensive analysis, on the basis of factual evidence, not only of the positive impacts of European research, but of the various criticisms that have been made of the Framework Programme.