newsletter
newsletter
Vol 2005 / 1
February 5, 2005

E UROPEAN F USION DEVELOPEMENT AGREEMENTInterview with Dr. Janez Potočnik - EU Commissioner for Science and Research
Issued by the EFDA
Close Support Unit
Garching

Bridging the gap with the public
EFDA Newsletter (E.N.): During FP6 the big European challenge in the field of energy(e.g. security of supply, acceptability, sustainability) have come out in full. Beingan economist yourself, what are your ideas to tackle this issue?

Contents• Interview:Dr. Janez Potočnik
page 1-3• Associations:ÖAW Association Day
page 3• Associations:
Microwave ECRH
IPP-Greifswald
page 4/5• JET:
Fusion Technology
page 6• Events:
Workshop on future
research in Europe
page 7/8• Events:
2005 World Year of
Physics
page 8

http://www.efda.org

Janez Potočnik (J.P.): Well, the escalation of global energy prices might turn out tohave been a blessing in disguise, since it has forced us to search for more earthfriendly, sustainable and cost-efficient energy sources. And we have made some
progress; we're using financial incentives and emissions quotas to help make newenergy sources more attractive to investors.
However, in the long term, a radical transformation of the global energy market isunavoidable. I think we are beginning to face up to this challenge in Europe, forexample by supporting the development of advanced renewable technologies.
That said, we can't underestimate the work involved. We need to anticipate andstimulate technological development years in advance. My job will be to galvanise
the work of European research teams, so that we can keep Europe at the forefront of energy source development.
E.N.: What are, in your opinion, the main advantages and concerns for the EU toincrease research expenditure to approach 3% of GDP in the EU 25?
J.P.: I think the political will is already clear on this. Most European countries have now
set objectives to meet this target and new Member States have been particularly
enthusiastic. However, there just isn't enough progress on this yet. Budget constraints are a continuing problem, along with the attractions of cheaper options in
Asia for R&D. Our best chance is the momentum created by the new Commission,
which gives us an opportunity to reinvigorate the Lisbon process and the European knowledge economy.
E.N.: The Commission is starting to prepare plans for the forthcoming FP7. Which willbe, in your opinion, the most important topics?
J.P.: I'm focussing very much on making the case for a strong link between knowledge
and growth. In a global world, the European model - with its high social and environmental standards - can only be successful if we build on Europe's traditional
strength: knowledge. There is a clear case for doubling EU research funds to support key technological sectors, and to continue establishing a real European
Research Area with mutually supportive national research programmes, and collaborative research. We will also be putting forward the idea of a European
Research Council to support small teams of researchers and we will be asking for
more support for the European Technology Platforms in their efforts to nurturescientific innovation. The lesson from FP6 is that we have to make everything simpler in FP7; the whole process needs to be more user-friendly to attract SMEs andthose with less experience of European programmes to get involved. We've got to
get our priority research themes right from the beginning, particularly in key areas
like health, biotechnology and nanotechnology. I am particularly keen to see us
working with our partners in industry and the scientific community on this.
E.N.: Europe is at the forefront of fusion research. The first design of a 'next step' fusion
machine started already in the early 1980s. Now the target is in reach and ITER
construction should be soon agreed among the partners. The European fusion
community has big expectations from this important project. What are yourexpectations from the ITER project?

EFDA Fusion Newsletter☞ continuation from page 1

page 2

Interview

J.P: ITER is essential: its completion will mean a large-scale, sustainable energy source forthe benefit of everyone in the future. We expect that total costs for its construction andoperation should amount to around 10 billion over 35 years. Once built, the reactor will
be able to generate power of about 500 million watts; this will stand as an unprecedented testament to global scientific and technological cooperation. It's vital to Europe's
future too, in that it will draw together a wide range of cutting-edge technologies central
to the long-term competitiveness of European industry.
E.N.: On November 26 the EU Competitiveness Council gave the Commission the go ahead
sign to conclude the international negotiations and bring ITER to Europe. Do you expect
to fulfil this request in the short term?

Dr. Janez Potoč nik

Dr. Janez Potočnik is theCommissioner for Scienceand Research under the
new Barroso Commission.
For several years, Janez
Potočnik has been the
point man between EU
headquarters in Brussels
and Ljubljana. Since
January 2002, the doctorof economics has served
as Slovenian minister ofEuropean affairs.
Previously, he served as
the negotiator responsible
for securing Slovenia's
membership in the EU.
For his CV please see:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/com
missioners/potocnik/cv_en.htm

More information on theEurobarometer:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/public_opinion/index_en.htm

andhttp://europa.eu.int/comm/public_opinion/standard_en.htm

For more information on
the European Research
Area (ERA) see:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/era/index _en.html

J.P.: Negotiations with our ITER partners are ongoing and I don't think it's useful to commit
ourselves to any sort of deadline at this stage. The Commission is doing everything possible to secure a consensus amongst all 6 parties to have the reactor based at
Cadarache. In our view this is the best site from a scientific, technological and environmental point of view. We are still in talks with our Japanese partners, looking in detail at
how to satisfy Japan's aspiration to maximise their interest in the project. One option
could be that the EU would contribute to other fusion initiatives based in Japan to complement ITER as part of a broader approach to mastering fusion energy. We hope toconclude our negotiations in time to start construction before the end of 2005.
E.N.: The results of the Eurobarometer 2002 (Energy) show that 85% of the people questioned are not aware of EU energy-related R&D. Efforts to improve the communication
between the EU institutions and the European citizens are growing. What are your recommendations to improve the situation?
J.P.: I think we've got to promote better understanding amongst people about why science isrelevant to all of us. As scientists and researchers, we have a responsibility to keep thegeneral public up to date with scientific and technological developments and how they
impact on everyday life. In our current research programmes, the Commission is alreadyconscious of the importance of communication: I can refer you to some of our initiatives
in the Science and Society Action Plan, for example, the European Science Week.
We are really making young people a priority now; our annual Young Scientists' Contest
is providing a great opportunity for young people from across Europe to come together
to learn from each other and to meet some of Europe's most prominent scientists. In
recent years, up to a third of the contestants have been young women and we hope thisreflects a growing interest in science amongst women in Europe. Improving communication is an on-going project for me - one of my central issues during my time as
Commissioner will be to help bridge the gap with the public.
E.N.: The concept of European Research Area (ERA) is now or is becoming a reality in several fields. What further efforts do you think will be needed to move forward during thenext framework programme?
J.P.: It is great to see how well the ERA has developed since my predecessor, Philippe
Busquin, launched the project five years ago. But it is fair to say that there is a lot of work
still to do to achieve a truly integrated “single market” for science and technology inEurope. Part of the answer has been to use an “open method of co-ordination” withMember States, which has allowed us to learn from each other and to develop complementary policies. But this is just the beginning. My plan will be to ask Member States for
greater political involvement and to push forward EU guidelines on key issues likehuman resources and fiscal incentives. I think this is how we will create leading markets
for the best European technologies in the long term.
E.N.: How will you help to make a career in science more attractive for the younger generation? What kind of funding will be available to young researchers? A possibility could
be to create a European post-doctoral scheme with a clear career progression built into
it. What is your opinion on such a system?

page 3

EFDA Fusion Newsletter

Specific objectives of the 2005
Researchers in Europe Initiative:

J.P.: Well, it's really about attracting the best talents to Europe, while at the same time stimulating the brightest people living here to enter research professions and stay over the longterm. Looking at what has been done already, we've got the Marie Curie actions, which areavailable to researchers at various stages of their careers. We've also tried to tackle mobility issues by launching the European researchers' mobility portal. This pools job vacancies
for researchers and gives them access to about 200 national and regional centres for help
and local support. Our next step will be our recommendations to Member States aboutdeveloping a European Researcher's Charter and a Code of conduct for the recruitment ofresearchers. With these initiatives in place, we'll be able to start building a genuine European labour market for researchers and offer more attractive career prospects. To begin
with, we're planning the 2005 Researchers in Europe Initiative, a high profile public awareness campaign about the role of researchers.
Here again capturing the minds of schoolchildren is crucial. Our own surveys have shownthat almost six in ten children find science at school difficult and uninteresting. It is generally agreed that science curricula are simply too heavy in content and too light in context.
Commission programmes like the European Science Week are working well to respond to
this problem and we have recently signed up another 7.7 million euro for a new promotional initiative, which brings universities, museums and schools together through special
events and internet links. Your question on the possibility of a European post-doctoral
scheme is an interesting one. Frankly, it would be naïve to think that, even with a doublingor a tripling of the budget for the Marie Curie actions, we would get immediate results fromone central scheme. I think to make real in-roads we will need to bring about more significant structural changes in the European research environment. What is most important isthat our future initiatives tackle the obstacles faced by researchers at all stages of theircareers, including improving access to pathways between academia and industry, as well as
addressing the international flows of research talent to and from Europe, the US and Asia.

• to improve and promote a
better public understandingof the contribution ofresearchers to society, interms of innovation, job creation, competitiveness andeconomic growth;• to encourage more young
people to embark on careers
in R&D and contribute thereby to increase the number of
researchers in Europe• to contribute to the overall
attractiveness of the EU as areference area for researchtalent from all over the world
and raise awareness of thepotential of the European
Research Area as a European Employment market for
researchers.
Marie Curie Fellowships provide European placements forpre and post-doctoral
researchers, usually up to theage of 35, and for experienced
researchers.
For more information see:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/fp6/mariecurieactions/indexhtm_en.html

Associations
16th Association Day of the Association EURATOM-ÖAW
On 30th November 2004 the Association EURATOM-ÖAW (Vienna, Austria) organised
her annual Association Day on Fusion Technology, which was hosted by TU-Wien/Atominstitut. At this meeting Austrian contributions to the EFDA Technology Work Programme
2004 and to the Underlying Technology Programme were presented and discussed by therespectively involved junior and senior scientists. Dr. Rainer Lässer (EFDA Garching) presented an overview on the development of materials with a view to ITER and DEMO.
Dr. Ettore Salpietro (EFDA Garching) gave a lecture on “current task fields and developments in the Magnetic Structure and Integration Field”. In the field “Magnetic Structure andIntegration” a research group of the Association EURATOM-ÖAW at the Atominstitut has
achieved important results with regard to radiation resistivity of insulation material for the
ITER magnet coil system. Irradiation experiments have shown that epoxy-based insulationmaterials will not sustain the expectable ITER neutron fluence level. Therefore new materials based on cyanate ester resins with better performance are presently tested. Anotherresearch group of the Association at the Erich-Schmid-Institut für Materialwissenschaft of
ÖAW in Leoben (Austria) has acquired specialised know-how in the characterisation andimprovement of high-temperature alloys (chromium and tungsten) for possible use in future
fusion power plants. Dr. Giovanni Piazza (EFDA-JET Culham) presented a lecture on JETTechnology in 2005 and 2006. The meeting was also attended by Dr. Günter Mank, Head of
the Physics Section of the IAEA Department of Nuclear Science and Applications and bycollaboration partners from laboratories in Germany, Hungary and Slovakia.

Tungsten and its alloys feature high melting point, lowvapour pressure, good thermal
conductivity, high erosion
resistance and good thermoshock properties. Their ductileto-brittle transition temperature, however, is strongly
dependent on processing andimpurities. As this complicatesmachining of complex parts,
low brittleness is essential anddesired. At the Erich-SchmidInstitut für Materialwissenschaft of ÖAW in Leoben tests
have been performed on various samples processed by
Severe Plastic Deformation(SPD) methods to achieve
optimum fracture toughness.

EFDA Fusion Newsletter

page 4

Associations
High-power tests of the ITER Remote Steering Launcher mock-up at IPP Greifswald
The ITER Experimental Reactor will be equipped with a 24 MW Electron Cyclotron
Resonance Heating (ECRH) system operating at 170 GHz. The unique ECRH properties ofvery localised heating and current drive in the plasma are well suited to satisfying various
physics requirements such as start-up assist, bulk-heating, current drive and control ofmagnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instabilities. A versatile and flexible multi-purpose system isunder design to meet the ITER requirements.
The suppression of plasma instabilities, in particular the socalled neoclassical tearing modes (NTMs) which are likely toappear in reference operating scenarios of ITER, is a particularly demanding objective. Instabilities are localised at major
rational magnetic surfaces corresponding to distinct radial positions within the plasma cross section. These positions canmove during the development of a plasma discharge as the
profile of the safety factor, q, changes. The instabilities degrade
the plasma performance, therefore mitigation and/or suppression is required. Efficient control was demonstrated in various
tokamak experiments by driving a localised current by EC
waves in the narrow region where the instabilities are excited.
In operation, the location of the instabilities must be identified
by proper diagnostics and the narrow ECRH beams must be
actively steered towards their exact location during the pulse.
The ECRH launcher must therefore be capable of steering thenarrow RF beams over a significant range of angles.

Fig. 1: ITER upper-port for ECRH-launcher
Fig.1:
Outline design of the ITER Remote Steering Launcher for one
upper port. The 4 x 2 wave guide stack as designed by the consortium of European Research Institutes FOM, FZK, CNR, and
CRPP is shown (top) together with a principle sketch of the RSLconcept (bottom).

Present-day experiments are performed with a so-called
Front Steering Launcher (FSL), which has a movable mirror at
the end of the transmission line inside the torus. An alternative
concept, the Remote Steering Launcher (RSL), is presently
under investigation for the ITER upper ports as seen from Fig.1.
The main technical advantage of this approach is the avoidanceof movable parts and the required driving mechanism close to
the plasma, which simplifies the construction, simplifies maintenance and is expected to improve the reliability.

The launcher basically consists of a square corrugated waveguide with a steerable mirror at the entrance of the wave guide(rather than on the plasma-facing end), which is then several
meters away from the plasma and outside of the primary vacuum
window. The RF-beam is launched at the waveguide entrance at variable angles and, with thedimensions of the waveguide properly chosen, is then radiated from the waveguide mouth
under the same but opposite angle. A sketch of this principle is seen in Fig.1. Fig 2 shows thecalculated microwave beam propagation in an optimised waveguide: the coloured areas indicate the reflection-patterns of the wave field at the waveguide walls. It is clearly seen thatthe propagation in the waveguide occurs in a zig-zag manner. A full-scale prototype of thelauncher is close to completion and will undergo various low- and high-power tests. As an intermediate step, a simplified uncooled RSL mock-up was designed at the Institut für Plasmaforschung (IPF), Universität Stuttgart and tested at high power in IPP Greifswald. These
measurements confirmed the principles of the RSL-concept and demonstrated the expectedtransmission performance. The partners to the design activity in 2004 were: ENEA/CNR,
CRPP, FOM, FZK, IPP, IPP/IPF and UKAEA.

page 5EFDA Fusion Newsletter

The 140 GHz, 10 MW, CW, ECRH system for the Wendelstein 7-X Stellarator,
which is presently being installed and partially operational, provides an ideal test bed
for the RSL tests, although the frequency islower than the ITER frequency (140 vs. 170
GHz). The test arrangement was readily
implemented in the IPP installation,
because the Wendelstein 7-X transmission
line is an open, purely optical system, whichruns at atmospheric pressure. The beamfrom the first 1 MW, CW gyrotron, whichbecame operational at the end of 2003, wasdirected into thesquared corrugatedwaveguide by a set
Fig. 2:of mirrors. The waveCalculated wave field pattern at the inner RSL-wave
guide walls. The zig-zag like propagation of the wave
guide is mounted onalong the wave guide is clearly seen. The calculations
a stable frame conwere performed at IPF Stuttgart.
struction with steerable optics at theentrance and various diagnostics along and at the exit of the waveguide. The high-power tests were performed with a power of up to
700 kW (typically 500 kW) and pulse lengths of up to 10 seconds.
The RF beams at the exit of the waveguide were steered into andabsorbed by a special dummy load developed and provided by CNRMilano. Due to the finite losses of the waveguide, the uncooled waveguide walls are heated. The losses, and thus the wall heating, is particularly pronounced in the areas where the waves are reflected fromthe walls along their 'bounce-motion'. The heat distribution along the
waveguide can be measured from outside with an infrared (IR)-camera, as seen in Fig. 3. The hot-spots (the 2nd, 4th and 6th reflection
are seen) agree well with the calculated reflection areas of the propagating wave shown in Fig. 2. This technique also allows the experimental verification of calculation of detailed wave patterns. Although
the experiments were performed under ambient atmospheric conditions, this waveguide arrangement (reproducing the reference
design for the waveguide system in the RS Upper Launcher forITER) showed no breakdowns and performed well. The detailed
measurements on the high-power transmission characteristics supported the low-power measurements. The far field radiation patternsof the RF-beams were measured about 2.2 meters away from thewaveguide mouth with a heat-target and an IR camera in short pulses. Beam pattern measurements at different launch angles showedthat a high quality Gaussian beam was obtained within the steering
Fig.3:Heat loading of one side wall of the RSL-waveguide.
range of +/- 12 deg. For larger steering angles, however, beam splitting
The hot spots indicate the internal reflections of theis expected from theory and was observed in the experiments. These
RF-waves. A principle sketch of the diagnostics set-up isresults increase the confidence on the applicability of the RS principle toalso shown.
the design of the ITER EC Upper Launcher.

EFDA Fusion Newsletter

page 6

JET
Fusion Technology at JET
The use of the JET facility
is of crucial importance inthe testing of technologicalsolutions for ITER. Within
the JET Fusion Technology
Task Force, several ITER
relevant issues have beenaddressed. Future activities
will continue to support
ITER designing and licensing activities.

Increasing the use of the JET facilities for Fusion Technology R&D in preparation of ITER
was one of the key objectives assigned to EFDA in 1999. For this purpose, the JET Fusion
Technology Task Force (TF-FT) was set-up in 2000 when JET started being used under
EFDA. Over the last five years, 68 Tasks involving several European laboratories have beenlaunched. The programme focuses on tritium, plasma facing components, waste management, engineering and safety issues.
Tritium in the Tokamak & Plasma facing components (EURATOM-Associations
UKAEA-UK, TEKES-Finland, FZK-Germany, IPP-Germany, VR-Sweden, CEA-France)
In view of limiting the tritium inventory inside ITER, activities are carried out to understandand control the co-deposition of tritium and carbon. The use of JET, with its worldwide
unique capability to operate with tritium, is invaluable. Investigations carried out to find how
and where tritium is trapped inside JET are based on the analysis of tiles removed during
shutdowns (including the use of markers such as 13C) or codeposition monitoring.
Methods based on laser or flash lamp are being investigated for removing tritiated codeposited layers from plasma-facing components, with tests carried out in laboratories anda first in-situ demonstration of the flash-lamp inside JET in 2004.
Tritium processes & waste management (EURATOM-Associations SCK-CEN Belgium, FZK-Germany, IPP-Germany, CEA-France, UKAEA-UK, MEC-Romania).
Deuterium and tritium from the torus, are processed in the JET Active Gas Handling System (AGHS). A cryopanel prototype has been successfully tested during Trace Tritium
Experiments in October 2003 to pump gas from the torus and neutral beam injectors, andcould find application on ITER. A new ITER relevant purification system (PERMCAT) has also been tested in AGHS to remove impurities like He, CO2, H2O, CH4 from the collected gases. Following thepurification, the different hydrogen species (H, D and T) are sortedout and D and T are stored for JET fuelling.
Dedicated procedures for decreasing the tritium content inside
the materials removed from the torus are being developed for tritiated stainless steel, carbon-based materials (graphite and carbon
fibre composite), organic liquids (pump oils, liquid scintillation cocktails) together with process and housekeeping wastes.
The design of a fully integrated water detritiation plant
as well as the testing of all its key components has been
carried out. This work has driven R&D in preparation of
the ITER plant and could find application at JET for onsite tritium recovery from tritiated water.
Safety & Engineering and Test beds (EURATOMAssociations ENEA-Italy, SCK-CEN-Belgium, CEAFrance).
With 20 years of operation, the use of tritium, beryllium andremote handling for maintenance, the JET experience provides a unique source of information for ITER licensing andguidelines for ITER design. Data are collected on component failure rates in various sub-systems (AGHS, vacuum
system, heating systems, power supply) and on occupational radiation exposure (dose to the workers depending
on worker categories and operation conditions).

Installation of a new
cryopanel prototype at JET(C. Day,
EURATOM-Association-FZK)

Elements of the JET facilities are also used as test beds
for studying prototypes for ITER, such as bypass switches
for power supplies, carbon-based tiles under high ion loads
or optical fibres under D-T neutron irradiation.

page 7

EFDA Fusion Newsletter

EventsWorkshop on the future of scientific and technological research in Europe
In his welcome address G. Sergio, USF President, recalled the outcome of the Lisbon
meeting in 2000 where the European Council agreed on a strategic goal for the present
decade: 'to become the most dynamic and competitive knowledge - based economy in theworld, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greatersocial cohesion, and respect for the environment'. The introductory talk, entitled “Towards
the 7th Framework Programme for Research” and focused on the Commission research policy, was given by R-J Smits, acting Director of DG RTD. After having highlighted the Commission's proposal for a substantial increase (doubling) of the research budget for FP7 in order tomeet the Lisbon objectives, R-J Smits presented the six key axes of the Commission's policy:
basic research and competitive funding; coordination of national programmes; research infrastructures; human resources; collaborative research and technology initiatives.
The largely positive results of the web based
consultation among the European research community and stakeholders on the above topics
were presented by C. de la Torre, also from DG
RTD. Detailed information on the consultation
can be downloaded from the DG Research website. J. Gavigan, from DG RTD, focused in more
depth on the necessity to increase investment inEuropean research (3% GDP, of which 2/3 fromprivate sector) to the level of research investments made in Japan and US. In the first thematic talk, assigned to EU nuclear energy
research policy, M. Poireau, from DG RTD,
stressed that “the issue of energy supply is so
important that all potential options (fossil fuels,
renewables, fission and fusion) should be developed. The morning session was concluded by S.
Zoletnik (KFKI Research Institute for Particle andNuclear Physics Department of Plasma Physics,
Budapest, Hungary) who gave a scientist's panoramic view of S&T research in Hungary and
New Member States.
A session was dedicated to personnel policy for research staff, 4th action programme forwoman and man at the EC, women and science network at JRC, with talks given by: P. Keraudren, from DG RTD, C. Joly, from DG ADMIN and A. Paya-Perez, from DG JRC.
In their talks on the thematic session dedicated to the JRC J.-P. Malingreau, D. Albrecht
and L. Debarberis, showed the intrinsic value and the unique contribution of the JRC atcommunity level while participating to FP indirect actions and networks both in nuclear andnon-nuclear activities. O. Comsa, from CITON, concluded the session with an overview of
the Romanian Nuclear R&D and the planned steps towards EU integration.
The second day started with a session dedicated to European Space Policy and Air Traffic Control (ATC). L. Tytgat, from DG RTD, and M. Praet and J. Amador Monteverde, from
ESA, presented to the audience the success achieved with a growing partnership between
Commission and European Space Agency (ESA), in a sector of strategic technologies andfuture space applications at the service of the European citizens. J-M Garot, director ofEurocontrol Experimental Centre, presented a proposal, for a single European ATC systemthat would enhance flight safety and productivity.
Finally, in the session dedicated to thermonuclear fusion, Y. Capouet and T. Bonicelli,from DG RTD, presented the uniqueness of the European fusion programme, the leading
position reached in fusion with JET and the key European role in design, construction andoperation of ITER.
Among the key challenges of the EU future fusion programme Y. Capouet listed the followings: support the European procurement effort for ITER; prepare for the DEMO/PROTO

A workshop on the futureof Scientific and Technological (S&T) research inEurope was held in Brussels the 9th and 10th ofDecember last year. The
aim of the workshop,
organised by the Union
Syndicale Federale (USF),
was to foster a policy
debate between scientists
working in the Commission and intergovernmental research institutions on
the Commission strategy
document COM 353, published the 16 June 2004,
entitled “Science andTechnology, the key toEurope's future”. Morethan 50 people attended
the workshop at the Centre de Conference Albert
Borchette. Among theinvited speakers there
were key persons and scientists from DG ADMIN,
DG RTD, DG JRC, ESA
and EUROCONTROL.

For additional information
http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/future/index_en.html
http://europa.eu.int/comm/resea
rch/future/themes/index_en.html
http://europa.eu.int/comm/space/index_en.html

All the presentations will
be available in due course
at the USF web site:
http://www.unionsyndicale.org/
info/

EFDA Fusion Newsletter

page 8

Events☞ continuation from page 7

steps (demonstration and prototype of a commercial reactor) attract and train scientificand engineering staff and promote involvement of industry. T. Bonicelli, presenting thepoint of view of the majority of EURATOM's staff working in fusion, said: “ITER and,more in general, the development of fusion as a future source of energy require a stable organisation capable to steer the research with continuity and consistency over thelong term. As a result of its farsighted and consistent policy, the Commission has, within its own staff, some of the most qualified fusion scientists and engineers worldwide.
This potential of human resources must be exploited for the good of Europe and of the
ITER project”.
What's next? An additional consultation on thematic domains for future EU support
under FP7, with a deadline 31 December 2004, was undertaken by the Commission aspart of its preparations for the proposal for FP7 which, according to R.-J. Smits andC. de la Torre, is due to be published in April this year. The publication of the proposal
for EURATOM's specific programme is foreseen for the 2nd semester 2005 - said
Y. Capouet. Council and Parliament should adopt the EURATOM framework programmeduring the 2nd semester of 2006 in time for implementation on the 1st January 2007.

Commission policy
proposal - 6 Key Axes:• Collaborative Research• Technology Initiatives(new)• Basic research competitive funding (new)• Coordination of national
programmes• Research infrastructures• Human resources

The World Year of Physics (WYP) is a worldwide celebration of physics and its importance inour everyday lives. Physics not only plays an important role in the development of science andtechnology but also has a tremendous impact on our society. WYP aims to raise the worldwide
awareness of physics and physical science bringing the excitement of physics to the public andinspire a new generation of scientists. It is timed to coincide with the centennial celebration ofAlbert Einstein's "miraculous year". The worldwide events for the WYP can be found on thewebsites: http://www.physics2005.org and http://www.wyp2005.org.

For more information
see our EFDA website:
http://www.efda.org

and additionally
http://www.jet.efda.org
http://www.iter.org

EFDA Close Support Unit - Garching
Boltzmannstr. 2
D-85748 Garching / Munich - Germany
phone: +49-89-3299-4237
fax: +49-89-3299-4197
e-mail: federico.casci@efda.org
editors: Federico Casci, Doris Lutz-Lanzinger
graphic design: Karen Jens

© M.Q. Tran (EFDA Leader) 2005.
This internal newsletter or parts of it may not be reproduced without permission.
Text, pictures and layout, except where noted, courtesy of the EFDA Parties. Picture on
page 8: Courtesy of APS.
The EFDA Parties are the European Commission and the Associates of the European
Fusion Programme which is co-ordinated and managed by the Commission.
Neither the Commission, the Associates nor anyone acting on their behalf is responsible
for any damage resulting from the use of information contained in this publication.