Mr President, a basic political problem has overshadowed all our debates over recent months: how to resolve the structural weaknesses in all areas of research in Europe. I think that, together, we can find suitable solutions which will ensure that the European Union can safeguard the future and respond to its citizens' expectations, given that today's European economies and societies are going for knowledge-based development. As far as the specific programme for structuring the European Research Area is concerned, the Commission proposal did in fact contain all the ingredients we needed to identify sensitive points and I am grateful for the cooperation we enjoyed in committee and, vitally, from the Committee on Industry. As luck would have it, the Barcelona Council approved the Commission proposal on increasing overall expenditure on research during the course of our work. This was encouraging and came just at the right time. These are a few of the basic points I should like to comment on: inter- and multidisciplinarity, which is, I think, crucial if we are to break traditional moulds and move on to more daring, innovative plans, to move into new research areas, rather than mere collaboration between various research areas. I think that, if we move in this direction, we shall release creative powers which will allow us Europeans to beat other forces in this field in the forthcoming race for international competitiveness. The second point is collaboration between and the mobility of researchers. Attracting new researchers and overcoming obstacles is something which concerns not just the countries of Europe but candidate and third countries as well. I think that the Marie Curie fellowships will help here, which is why we are calling for the Commission to monitor mobility, so that the European Parliament has reliable statistics over coming years. Europe has much to gain from researchers from third countries. Not only must we avoid underestimating the importance of fellowships to them; I think we must also make some kind of commitment. And if I reiterate this issue, Commissioner, it is because I think that you agree on its importance. The third point is the European Higher Education Area. Research and higher education have mutual benefits and are interconnected vessels. There is, of course, a degree of competition, the question of teaching rights. But I think that the Bologna procedure and the common initiative we are waiting for from Commissioners Busquin, Liikanen and Reding will be of immense interest here. Society and science: the fears and expectations of European citizens from research and science are greater now than ever. Not only do we need more systematic public dialogue, but this public dialogue needs to be structured so that it has a real impact on our society, provides food for thought and educates. Dialogue implies a two-way relationship and should allow European research to understand the needs of our citizens and to respond to social demands, which is why we insisted that social sciences and human sciences take priority. However, I believe that a great deal of work still needs to be done in the society and science area, mainly strategic, structural planning. Finally, I should like to believe that, politically, we have done what we could, cautiously and by common assent, and have resolved some of the problems before us. From now on, as far as implementation is concerned, the Commission now has the baton, although the research community will play the leading role in applying the programme and we trust that it will not gainsay our political choices.

Political group: PSE