COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION - Research and technological development activities of the European Union - 2000 Annual Report

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Summary

2. A fresh boost for research policies in Europe

3. Towards a European Research Area

3.1. A challenge to be met

3.2. Courses and means of action

3.3. Debates and guidelines for action

4. Community research in 1999

4.1. Launching of the 5th Framework Programme

4.2. Key actions

4.3. Generic RTD and support for research infrastructures

4.4. Participation of Associated States and international cooperation

4.5. European mobility of researchers

4.6. Women in Community research

4.7. Ethical aspects of Community research

4.8. Monitoring of Community research

4.9. Implementation of the Framework Programme

5. Impact of Community research

5.1. Transnational cooperation links

5.2. SME access to research

5.3. Impact on competitiveness, employment and the quality of life

5.4. Impact on European economic cohesion

5.5. "Combination" of national and European policies

6. Outlook

6.1. Creation of a European Research Area

6.2. Implementation of the 5th Framework Programme

6.3. Preparation of future Community research activities

ANNEXES

Legal bases for the annual report [1]

[1] There are similar provisions for the Euratom Framework Programme (Euratom Treaty, Article 11; Decision 94/268/Euratom, Article 4(1); Decision 94/761/Euratom, Article 10(1)).

*Treaty establishing the European Community, Article 173:

At the beginning of each year the Commission shall send a report to the European Parliament and the Council. The report shall include information on research and technological development activities and the dissemination of results during the previous year, and the work programme for the current year.

*Decision No 182/1999/EC concerning the 5th Framework Programme (OJ L 26, 1 February 1999), Article 5(4):

The Commission shall regularly inform the European Parliament and the Council of the overall progress of the implementation of the Framework Programme and the Specific Programmes.

*Decision No 1999/65/EC concerning the rules for participation (OJ L 26, 1 February 1999), Article 24:

The annual report which the Commission sends to the European Parliament and the Council in accordance with Article 173 of the Treaty shall contain information on the implementation of this Decision.

Sources of further information

*Annual Monitoring Reports published each year for the Framework Programme and each Specific Programme, which provide concise, independent feedback on the progress and quality of the measures taken to implement the programmes.

*Five-year Assessment Reports published every fourth year, both for the Framework Programme and for each Specific Programme, which present an independent retrospective evaluation of the relevance, efficiency, results and impact of the European Union RTD programmes.

*The European Report on Science and Technology Indicators, which contains descriptions, statistics and detailed analyses of European and national RTD activities in the world context.

*Research and Development: Annual Statistics (Eurostat): an annual publication containing comparable international statistics on R&D expenditure, R&D personnel and patents in the Member States, broken down by regional level.

*R&D and Innovation Statistics for the Candidate Countries and the Russian Federation (Eurostat).

*The Commission's annual budgetary documents, i.e. the preliminary draft budget, the budget, the consolidated revenue and expenditure account and the balance sheet.

*Studies and analyses published in connection with the Community RTD programmes and addressing issues specific to the fields of RTD which they cover.

Most of these documents can be obtained or ordered from the Commission's Internet sites:

The Commission's general EUROPA site: http://europa.eu.int

The CORDIS site containing information on the Framework Programme: http://www.cordis.lu

Commission Directorate-General XII's site: http://europa.eu.int/comm/dg12

The EUROSTAT site: http://europa.eu.int/en/comm/eurostat

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) site: http://www.jrc.org

Extensive information on EU policies can be found on these sites, and in particular, on the CORDIS site which is devoted to the RTD Framework Programme and on DG XII's site, all the reference documents, the texts of calls for proposals and a host of other information, in line with the Commission's transparency and information policy.

1. Summary

This annual report on the European Union's RTD activities takes stock of a period in which there were many new developments.

Following the European Parliament elections and the appointment of the new Commission, there has been a substantial move towards giving European research policy a more political and more ambitious profile, as endorsed by the Research Ministers.

On 18 January 2000 the Commission adopted the Communication Towards a European Research Area which recognises that the EU is spending less on research than its main competitors and that the gap is widening. The Commission therefore calls for the concerted mobilisation of the relevant policies and instruments at all levels. It identifies priority targets for creating a coherent research area in terms of human, material and financial resources that is attractive at international level and takes social concerns into account. The Commission's ideas aroused considerable interest among all the parties concerned, and were supported by the European Parliament and endorsed by the Lisbon European Council which gave them operational status by setting out implementation details and a timetable.

Where Community research activities proper are concerned, the 5th Framework Programme for RTD was launched. Researchers and research users helped to choose and revise the priorities in the 21 expert advisory groups for the programmes and key actions. The first calls for proposals were launched in March 1999 and over 16 000 proposals were received in the course of the year. This massive number of proposals is encouraging, especially as it reflects significant participation by the countries in the pre-accession phase which are now associated with the Framework Programme. The key actions accounted for 85% of the resources for the thematic programmes and made it possible to launch large-scale research partnerships (with an average Community contribution of EUR1.7 million) with major synergies ;between projects. The generic RTD activities and infrastructure support activities also generated large-scale projects and support for researcher mobility was stepped up. In the framework of all these activities special efforts were made both to encourage participation by women and comply with fundamental ethical principles, and to reconcile the need for consistency and administrative rigour with ease of access.

The impact of Community research is bound up with its transnational networks involving the business world, academia and research centres, as well as the access to European research offered to many SMEs (22% of all participations). This impact is reinforced by the fact that the 5th Framework Programme (both indirect activities and the activities of the Joint Research Centre) is directed towards major social and economic issues. Community research also plays a positive role in the drive towards European cohesion. Last but not least, it ensures consistency between certain types of RTD conducted in Europe and, in this connection, activities aimed at "combining" national and European policies could be stepped up.

Major steps are due to be taken to bring about the European Research Area in practical terms. The contribution of the Fifth Framework Programme to this undertaking is one of the aspects of its mid-term review. Looking to the longer term, in the autumn the Commission will also be adopting a strategic communication setting out its initial thinking on Community research after 2002.

2. A fresh boost for research policies in Europe

1999 was a year of major changes for the European institutions. Following the European Parliament elections and the appointment of the new Commission, radical changes were set in motion, and European research policy was one of the areas affected.

The new European Parliament confirmed its desire to monitor the implementation of Community programmes, including the Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (RTD), and appointed rapporteurs for each budget heading concerned. At the same time, the European Parliament reorganised its specialised committees. Research matters are now debated by the new Committee for Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy, helping to situate European research in the broader context of the policies which contribute towards competitiveness, innovation and job creation in Europe. The Commision has been reporting regularly to Parliament on execution of the 5th Framework Programme.

The new Commission, on the initiative of Commissioner Busquin, has added a new dimension to Community research and innovation policy: the EU's scientific and technical resources must be harnessed in a more coherent fashion in order to sustain lasting, job-creating growth capable of meeting the aspirations of society.

These questions were already beginning to be addressed in 1999. For example, the research ministers debated the future of research with eminent scientists at the invitation of the German presidency in the margins of the 20 May 1999 Research Council. In the course of their discussions, the need to develop coordination and synergies between research policies and organisations in Europe was the subject of broad agreement. Following this debate, the Member States' representatives on CREST [2] examined "opportunities and challenges for future European research policy". In particular, they stressed the importance of coordinating research in Europe and examined possible ways of improving coordination.

[2] The Scientific and Technical Research Committee (which advises the Council and the Commission, is made up of Member States' representatives, and is chaired by the Commission).

3. Towards a European Research Area

Upon taking office, the new Commission took the initiative of giving RTD a genuine political dimension and setting the target of establishing a real European Research Area. On 18 January 2000 it adopted a Communication Towards a European Research Area, setting out the issues at stake and the possible ways of creating this more integrated area, and launching a wide-ranging debate on the subject. [3]

[3] European Commission, Towards a European Research Area, COM(2000) 6, 18 January 2000. Website: europa.eu.int/comm/research/area.html

3.1. A challenge to be met

The Communication Towards a European Research Area finds that, while Europe possesses remarkable scientific expertise, it spends less on science and technology than its main partners and that the gap is widening alarmingly. The EU now devotes only 1.9% of its GDP to research, as against 2.7% in the United States and 3.1% in Japan. In terms of human resources, the difference is even more striking: researchers account for 2.4% of the workforce in Europe, compared with 5.9% in the United States and 6.3% in Japan. This gap is mainly attributable to private-sector research funding. As a result, research and innovation are lagging behind in Europe, at a time when they are becoming more crucial than ever before for competitiveness and employment with the advent of a global "knowledge-based society".

Furthermore, the research policies of the Community and Member States are conducted in isolation without real coordination. This results in rigidity and inefficiency in the allocation of resources at EU level, pushing Europe further behind. In this context, the EU needs to promote an overall strategy for European research. It can no longer afford to run the research Framework Programme in splendid isolation.

The communication therefore calls for a concerted effort on the part of policymakers and research players at all levels in Europe. Public and private-sector resources need to be better mobilised for research. A common political push is also necessary in order to ensure that research activities in Europe are truly coherent. To be sure, there are various initiatives that successfully underpin research exchanges and partnerships between the European countries, the main one being the RTD Framework Programme. But promoting trans-European research projects is not enough to get the ball rolling. To meet this challenge, the communication launches a debate on a set of courses and means of action at regional, national and European level.

3.2. Courses and means of action

The communication identifies seven priority areas for concerted action. The measures suggested are the responsibility of all the parties concerned: first and foremost all the Member States and the public sector at all levels, but also the private sector and the EU which has an important role to play in promoting, encouraging and boosting national and local initiatives and taking action at European level only where such action is justified.

The European Research Area is thus based on the principles of subsidiarity and European added value. The themes to be debated are as follows:

*Optimise the stock of material resources and facilities at European level. To achieve this major objective, the communication suggests the mapping and networking of European centres of excellence, a European approach to research facilities, the development of electronic networks and better use of their potential for European researchers.

*Make more coherent use of public instruments and resources. To this end, the communication advocates the opening-up and better coordination of national and European research programmes, and closer relations between European organisations for science and technology cooperation.

*Make private investment more dynamic. In this connection, the communication proposes more concerted use of instruments for providing indirect support to research, better intellectual property protection, in particular by means of a Community patent, and the exploration of new avenues for encouraging company start-ups and risk capital investment.

*Establish a common scientific and technical reference system for policy implementation. In this regard, the Commission takes the view that research activities should take greater account of the needs of citizens and decision-makers, and that research results should be validated by means of a reliable and recognised system. The Commission considers that a common reference system should be based in particular on its Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the national research centres.

*Give rise to more abundant and more mobile human resources. First of all, there is a need to increase researcher mobility in Europe, in particular from one country to another and between the academic world and the business world. An important step would be to encourage the introduction of a European dimension into scientific careers. The communication also stresses the crucial role of the "Women and science" action plan to ensure a bigger place and role for women in research. Lastly, it recommends ambitious measures to give the young a taste for research and scientific careers.

*Make the European landscape more dynamic, open and attractive to researchers and investment. The communication identifies three broad lines of approach: increasing the role of the regions in the European research effort, integrating the scientific communities of Western and Eastern Europe, and making Europe attractive to researchers from the rest of the world.

*Create an area of shared values. The communication divides this objective into two parts: tackling science/society issues on a European scale, and developing a common vision of ethical issues in science and technology.

3.3. Debates and guidelines for action

The Communication Towards a European Research Area aroused considerable interest among all the bodies and players concerned.

On 18 May 2000 the European Parliament adopted a resolution welcoming the communication. [4] It stressed the importance of research in terms of increasing employment and prosperity. It called upon the European Commission and the Member States to develop a coordinated research policy so as to create a European area that will provide a stimulus for research and, first and foremost, for researchers.

[4] European Parliament Resolution on the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions "Towards a European Research Area". European Parliament Website: http://www.europarl.eu.int/

On 24 May 2000 the Economic and Social Committee adopted a detailed opinion which supports the process set in motion by the communication, in particular with a view to developing the interactions between public-sector and private-sector research and improving the position of science and the attractiveness of scientific careers in society. In an opinion adopted on 12 April 2000 the Committee of the Regions also expressed its support for the creation of a European Research Area, stressing the important role of local and regional authorities with regard to scientific training and support for research.

The Research Ministers discussed the approaches outlined in the communication at an informal meeting on 6 March 2000 and then at a debate held the next day with Nobel prize-winners and eminent representatives of the European scientific community.

With the Special European Council held in Lisbon by the Portuguese Presidency on 23 and 24 March 2000, RTD policy was given greater recognition than ever before as a major priority on the agenda of the Heads of State and Government. They placed the creation of a European Research and Innovation Area at the heart of their strategy designed to enable the EU to become "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustained economic growth providing more and better jobs and greater social cohesion." [5] The Heads of State and Government approved the objectives set out in the communication and stated that "research activities at national and Union level must be better integrated and coordinated." In particular, they called upon the Council and the Commission, together with the Member States where appropriate, to take the necessary steps in the following areas:

[5] Presidency Conclusions, Lisbon European Council, 23 and 24 March 2000. Council website: http://ue.eu.int/

-Networking national and joint research programmes on a voluntary basis;

-Improving the environment for private research investment, R&D partnerships and high technology start-ups;

-Developing an open method of coordination for benchmarking national R&D policies;

-Creating a very high-speed trans-European telecommunications network for research;

-Creating a European area in which there is free mobility for researchers and which is attractive at international level;

-Introduction of a simple, effective and inexpensive Community patent.

On the basis of these guidelines issued by the European Council, together with the implementation details and a timetable, the Commission has prepared more operational plans. In so doing, it also took into account the results of the wide-ranging debate sparked off by its communication in the EU's advisory bodies, in the scientific community, and among all the parties concerned, in particular firms and their representative organisations.

More broadly, the invitation issued by the Commission to take part in the debate yielded numerous replies, whose constructive tone and quality made it possible to flesh out the guidelines proposed. In less than five months over 400 contributions have been received from all the EU countries (as well as from associated countries and third countries) and all the types of organisations concerned: large firms and SMEs, research centres, universities, and associations, etc. Substantial contributions were received from 30 or so of the most eminent scientists in the EU, Nobel prize-winners and Fields medallists, whom Commissioner Busquin asked for advice. The Commission also received a number of individual reactions, in particular via the forum on the Commission's website [6] on which summaries of the contributions received and the Commissioner's replies were regularly published.

[6] europa.eu.int/comm/research

Also, deliberations were conducted in the context of the Futures project coordinated by the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies of the Commission's Joint Research Centre with the participation of 200 or so experts. [7] These deliberations confirmed the crucial importance for the future of Europe of a high level of integration in the field of research and knowledge.

[7] Futures project website: futures.jrc.es.

A high-level group of scientists and industrialists met on 3 May 2000 and made comments and proposals with a view to achieving the objectives set out in the communication. The meeting was preceded by exchanges of views between a number of interested personalities on the possible configuration of a future advisory body for major European science and technology issues.

The first concrete steps have therefore been proposed in the light of these debates. The Council of Ministers expressed its broad support for them in a resolution adopted on 15 June. This resolution specifies the initiatives desired by the Member States to implement the guidelines issued by the Lisbon European Council. The foundations have therefore been laid for bringing about a European Research Area through concerted initiatives by the EU and the Member States which are starting to take shape (cf. 6.1).

4. Community research in 1999

4.1. Launching of the 5th Framework Programme

Once the Framework Programme [8] was adopted in December 1998 and the Specific Programmes in January 1999, the Commission put the finishing touches to all the arrangements needed to launch the first research activities as quickly as possible. The priorities for 1999 were rapidly determined in consultation with the scientific community, industry and research users, thanks to the support of the 21 expert advisory groups for the programmes and key actions. Detailed work programmes and information packs for proposers were adopted and published for each Specific Programme, while common features such as the evaluation manual were also made available for the Framework Programme as a whole. The Joint Research Centre also very quickly adopted and implemented a work programme for the new priorities set in the Framework Programme, focusing in the case of non-nuclear activities on three strategic themes: "serving the citizen", "enhancing sustainability" and "underpinning European competitiveness". In addition, an event to launch the programme was held in Essen in February 1999 with over 5 000 participants.

[8] Unless otherwise stated, throughout this report "Framework Programme" or "RTD Framework Programme" means the Framework Programme of the European Community (EC) for research, technological development and demonstration activities plus the Framework Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) for research and training activities.

Thanks to all these efforts, a first wave of calls for proposals was launched in March 1999 and the evaluation of the replies to these calls began in the summer with the help of independent experts. Over 1 000 contracts were signed in 1999, less than seven months after the close of the first calls for proposals. By the end of March 2000 over 3 500 contracts had already been signed under the 1999 budget. All in all, over 16 000 proposals were received in 1999, representing over 90 000 participations. This indicates the keen interest of the scientific community and industry in taking part in the Framework Programme and in its new approach.

4.2. Key actions

One of the main innovations of the 5th Framework Programme is the bringing-together of a large part of research activities in 23 multidisciplinary key actions, which are intended to respond to the priority needs of citizens and society. The principles governing these key actions are the gearing of research projects to problem-solving and the focusing of activities, either through bigger individual projects or by bringing projects together in formally ("clusters") or informally coordinated packages.

The key actions represented 85% of the resources allocated via the thematic programmes under the contracts signed. [9] The financial scale of the contracts has doubled compared with similar contracts under the 4th Framework Programme. Just under 1 000 RTD projects were launched in the context of the key actions of the various thematic programmes, with an average Community contribution of over EUR 1.7 million. Few demonstration projects had been signed at the time of writing this report; however, 41 combined (RTD and demonstration) projects had been launched, with a Community contribution of over EUR 3 million on average. These sums are all the more significant given the fact that in all cases the Community contribution represents at most 50% of the total project costs for RTD aspects and 35% for the demonstration aspects. In addition, the consortia set up to carry out these RTD and demonstration projects generate significant networking effects, bringing together as they do on average over seven partners per project.

[9] The figures relating to contracts signed refer to all the contracts signed under the 1999 budget up to the end of March 2000, namely 3 500 contracts receiving a total Community contribution of EUR 3 300 million.

With regard to the grouping of projects, very few formal groupings ("clusters") were set up either spontaneously or at the Commission's suggestion. Nevertheless, certain areas did make significant use of this possibility, e.g. the key action "Control of infectious diseases". Some key actions also group together projects in the context of the thematic networks. In addition, the appropriateness of the projects funded in relation to the objectives of the key actions generates significant de facto synergies in terms of achieving these objectives. The work programmes for the individual Specific Programmes were adapted for the year 2000 in the light of the projects selected in 1999, so as to maximise complementary features and ensure consistency with the objectives set.

4.3. Generic RTD and support for research infrastructures

The generic RTD activities are an essential complement to the key actions in the case of priority research activities more geared to the long term, the spin-offs from which cover a broad range of areas of application. Over 200 research projects had been launched in the context of these activities by the end of March 2000, with an average Community contribution of over EUR 1.5 million. The scale of the projects funded by the EU has therefore increased a great deal for this type of activity too. The number of partners is similar to that for the projects carried out in the context of the key actions.

Research infrastructures can also be supported under the Framework Programme, essentially to improve access to these infrastructures and encourage their European networking. This support is therefore complementary to the national support for research infrastructures, and its financial scale is limited by comparison but its added value can be significant. A substantial proportion of the support for access to research infrastructures is administered "horizontally" by the "Human Potential" programme. Some 150 contracts had been signed in this area of activity by the end of March 2000, the average amount being EUR 800 000 per project and around EUR 300 000 per participating organisation.

4.4. Participation of Associated States and international cooperation

The forthcoming enlargement of the EU together with the globalisation of the economy and knowledge are some of the factors which explain the growing importance assigned to international RTD cooperation, which is implemented under the 5th Framework Programme in two ways: on the one hand, via the "Confirming the International Role of Community Research" Programme and, on the other, through the participation of third countries in other Specific Programmes. Where a number of countries are concerned, this participation is facilitated by S&T cooperation agreements (which reciprocally open up research programmes in those countries so that European entities can participate in them); as well as through Framework Programme association agreements which enable researchers from the countries concerned in all the Specific Programmes to receive Community funding in exchange for a flat-rate contribution to the Framework Programme budget. Generally speaking, the activities undertaken are differentiated on the basis of the objectives pursued according to groups of target countries.

Countries in the pre-accession phase

As of 1 October 1999, the ten Central and Eastern European countries in the pre-accession phase and Cyprus became effectively associated with the Framework Programme (since which time Malta has also asked to be associated). In anticipation, these 11 associated countries enjoy regular political consultations with the Commission and their organisations were able to take part in the calls for proposals once the Framework Programme was launched. The results are encouraging, not only in terms of the number of participants, but also when one considers the total volume of activity in which they will be participating. By the end of March 2000 they accounted for almost 400 participations, or 3.4% of the total number of participations. This is an encouraging proportion for the first year that these countries are participating as countries associated with the Framework Programme, especially as it gives the countries in question access to a volume of RTD much higher than this proportion and to first-rate European research networks (7% of the bilateral cooperation links created by European RTD projects include a partner from these associated countries). Accompanying measures have been set up under the "International Role" programme in order to support them in their efforts to participate, and help to develop their "centres of excellence".

Other countries associated with the Framework Programme

Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Israel, which were earlier associated with the 4th Framework Programme, are now associated with the 5th Framework Programme. Right from the first year these countries together accounted for some 330 participations in the projects under the Framework Programme. In addition, an association agreement with Switzerland were signed on 23 June 1999 and is due to enter into force in 2001.

Non-candidate Central and Eastern European countries and the New Independent States of the former Soviet Union

The S&T cooperation agreement with Russia has been initialled and submitted to the Council and the European Parliament. However, for political reasons, the signing of the agreement by the Council and the conclusion of the agreement after receiving the opinion of the European Parliament have been suspended for the time being. Ukraine has also asked to negotiate an S&T cooperation agreement, and a first exploratory visit took place in December 1999. In addition, the International Association for the Promotion of Cooperation with Scientists from the New Independent States of the former Soviet Union (INTAS) is funded mainly by the Community under the Framework Programme. In this context, 202 new projects were proposed in 1999, covering a broad spectrum of areas and countries, in addition to the COPERNICUS projects.

Mediterranean partner countries

The establishment of specific relations with this group of countries is an innovation of the 5th Framework Programme. The essential objective is to contribute to sustainable development in the Mediterranean area in the context of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership and the ultimate establishment of a free trade area. The approach pursued has been to focus on five strategic priorities for the region which are not fully covered by the other thematic programmes or by the INCO-DC Programme: socio-economic modernisation, sustainable management of regional water resources, preservation and use of the cultural heritage, promotion of health, and sustainable regional environment.

Developing countries

Efforts have continued to improve bilateral coordination between national initiatives and with Community initiatives. Within the Commission, the RTD and development services have embarked upon a joint analysis of themes and options for the use of RTD for development. In addition, two major coordination initiatives have been launched, one concerning tropical forests and another concerning perennial tropical oleaginous seeds and fruit. Other initiatives are continuing on strategic themes for developing countries, such as the development of a malaria vaccine and agriculture for development. In the latter area, the Commission is also continuing to participate in the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research.

Emerging economies and industrialised countries other than Russia and Ukraine

The S&T cooperation agreement with the United States gave rise to the signature of implementing arrangements in the fields of metrology and materials. Lastly, the S&T cooperation agreement with China entered into force on 14 December 1999 and a similar agreement was concluded with Argentina. In the context of relations between major world regions, the Community made a significant contribution to the ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Ministerial Conference on Science and Technology held in Peking on 14 and 15 October 1999 and launched the scientific and technological follow-up to the Rio Summit of 19 June 1999.

Coordination

To strengthen coordination and synergy between the various forms of S&T cooperation in Europe, the Commission continued to support the COST Programme and run its scientific secretariat. Four new countries (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Latvia and Lithuania) became member of COST which now includes 32 European countries. EUREKA continued to play an important role, in particular as regards scientific relations with the Central and Eastern European countries. Lithuania was accepted as a member of EUREKA at the Istanbul Ministerial Conference under the Turkish Presidency (1999), and then Latvia and Croatia became members along with Israel at the Hanover Conference under the current German Presidency.

4.5. European mobility of researchers

Direct support of researcher mobility was considerably stepped up in the context of the 5th Framework Programme with the "Human Potential" Programme. A "host fellowship" scheme has been set up whereby organisations selected by the Community themselves choose the fellows that they host. This new type of fellowship is awarded in order to host fellows in industry (220 fellows selected in 1999), to host researchers in the Community's less-favoured regions (over 130 fellows selected), and to host postgraduates at high-level training sites (over 200 sites selected in 1999). All in all, over 3 000 fellows are in receipt of the Marie Curie fellowships selected for funding in 1999. In addition, 167 research training networks were selected in 1999, bringing together over 1 300 teams which will host nearly 4 000 young researchers.

4.6. Women in Community research

On 17 February 1999 the Commission adopted a Communication "Women and science: mobilising women to enrich European research." [10] In it the Commission deplores the under representation of women in scientific research, which represents an unacceptable loss for research in Europe, as well as unfair treatment. The communication lays the foundations for an action plan with two objectives: to stimulate debate and the exchange of experience between Member States and promote research by, for and about women within the 5th Framework Programme.

[10] COM(99) 76 final. This and other documents referred to in this section are available on the "Women and Science" website: www.cordis.lu/improving/src/hp_women.htm

On 20 May 1999 the Council approved a resolution in which it supported this approach and called upon the Member States to participate actively in the dialogue proposed by the Commission, and to promote women in research at national level. The European Parliament also expressed its support in its resolution on women and science which it adopted on 3 February 2000.

To promote mobilisation in the Member States and Associated States, in 1999 the Commission convened the representatives of the networks of women scientists and gave rise to the setting-up of a group of national officials on women and science. In parallel, a group of 12 women scientists appointed by the Commission submitted a report in November 1999 taking stock of the situation of women in European research and setting out recommendations. The participation of women in the 5th Framework Programme will continue to be encouraged and stimulated at all levels, and in particular in the evaluation panels (25% of the members of the panels for the first series of evaluations were women). In addition, studies in the context of the Specific Programmes were launched in mid-2000 and gender research is being funded under the socio-economic key action.

4.7. Ethical aspects of Community research

The European Parliament and Council decision adopting the 5th Framework Programme specifies that all activities must be conducted in accordance with basic ethical principles. The European Group on Ethics on Science and New Technologies elucidated this statement of principle in its recommendation no. 10 "ethical aspects of the 5th Framework Programme," drawing conclusions about how the Commission should exercise due vigilance in connection with the implementation of the programmes.

In particular, the Council Decision adopting the "Quality of Life" Programme specifies the ethical limits to research activities funded by the Community, excluding certain types of research; restricting the use of animals; including research for the benefit of the most vulnerable, and research into bioethics; and harmonising the approach for this programme with the provisions of international texts.

The Commission has translated these requirements into concrete measures. Researchers are requested to address the ethical aspects of their projects carefully when they are submitted. In addition, the scientific evaluation of research projects incorporates ethical considerations; and the projects in the field of life sciences which raise particular ethical issues are the subject of a specific ethical review. This is the case in particular with research involving clinical testing, experiments on non-human primates and the use of human embryos. Each call for proposals in 1999 gave rise to an ethical review by a pluralist, multidisciplinary panel of several dozen sensitive proposals, culminating in consensus-based positions with the proposers concerned. Lastly, the contract negotiation process makes it possible to ensure that all the authorisations required at national level have in fact been obtained by the researchers in order to carry out their work.

Quite apart from these regulatory considerations, it is important to stress the pedagogical role that the Commission can play and the stimulus that it can provide through the Framework Programme to raise researchers' awareness of the ethical dimension of science.

4.8. Monitoring of Community research

In compliance with legislative requirements in the relevant programme decisions, panels of independent experts conducted the 1999 annual monitoring of the Framework Programme and its Specific Programmes. The Framework Programme Monitoring Panel congratulated the Commission services on their management of the transition from FP4 to the different programme structure, objectives and procedures of FP5, in the context of time pressure and heavy workloads due to the late adoption of the FP decisions. The Panel also commended the introduction of many developments and innovations, such as the transparent proposal evaluation system now standardised across the Framework Programme.

However, the Panel considered that major challenges were already facing the Framework Programme. Its main concerns were related to further improvement of programme management, human resources policy and research impact. The Panel made a number of operational recommendations mostly linked to these topics. In general terms, it recommended that:

-the administration of the "call for proposals to project contract" phase should be improved;

-an effective human resources policy should be developed across the Framework Programme;

-impact should be strengthened as well as its assessment mechanisms in FP5.

The Panel further considered that gender awareness should be strengthened, notably through appropriate gender-based data collection and continued efforts to encourage female evaluators to apply for inclusion in the proposal evaluators' database. Finally, the Panel stressed the importance of public awareness of S&T and recommended that appropriate measures should be developed by each operational programme director and integrated into an overall approach at the FP level.

The Commission has responded favourably to the Panel's recommendations and is taking steps towards their implementation.

4.9. Implementation of the Framework Programme

In managing the Framework Programmes, the approach of the Commission has always been to apply a number of, by now well-known, fundamental principles:

-equality of access to the programmes for all potential participants and equal treatment of proposals;

-selection of proposals on the basis of quality;

-transparency and objectivity of criteria and procedures;

-balance between quality and rapidity of procedures, whilst maintaining sound stewardship of public money.

During the preparation for the launch of the 5th Framework Programme and in its first year of operation, these principles have continued to be applied and, in addition, a strong push has been made towards improving coherence across all Specific Programmes. Other than changes to internal ways of working, the principal and most visible results from this work include:

-a common manual of proposal evaluation procedures to be followed by all Specific Programmes;

-a new set of model contracts for all the means of implementation used in the Specific Programmes;

-an extension to all Specific Programmes and complete redesign of the European research and innovation Website, CORDIS [11];

[11] www.cordis.lu

-a set of guides for proposers;

-an open call for applications from potential expert evaluators of proposals and a common evaluator database;

-a common facility for the receipt, encoding and evaluation of proposals, with administrative support by an external service provider;

-a revised procedure following the evaluation of proposals, allowing contract negotiations to begin sooner with partners in successful proposals.

In terms of managing the start of FP5, the most significant development was that the late adoption of the Framework Programme and Specific Programmes decisions, combined with the expectations of the RTD community and the necessity to commit the 1999 budget of each programme, dictated a "big bang" launch with most of the first calls closing within a very short period between June and July 1999. This situation provoked some operational problems and difficult working conditions for the initial evaluation sessions during those two months. Despite these initial problems, as already noted some 16 000 proposals were processed and 12 000 evaluated in 1999 all were given fair treatment and the Commission was able to prepare contracts with successful proposers on time.

As anticipated, the change in procedures following the evaluation sessions led to contract negotiations being opened with successful proposers some two months faster on average than under the 4th Framework Programme. Unfortunately, however, it was not possible to inform unsuccessful proposers as rapidly as planned in 1999. This latter point was among a number of management problems identified by the Commission which led to the setting up at the beginning of 2000 of an inter-service group on improving and simplifying the management of the RTD programmes, whose conclusions are now being implemented (cf. 6.2.).

5. Impact of community research

5.1. Transnational cooperation links

Since its inception the Framework Programme has had a major networking effect in Europe as a result of its principle of mainly funding multinational research consortia. The bigger size of research projects under the 5th Framework Programme (7 partners per project on average) accentuates this "virtual mobility" effect, which stimulates and encourages the "real" mobility of researchers. The 1 500 RTD and demonstration projects launched by March 2000 (under the 1999 budget) created over 36 000 cooperation links including over 30 000 transnational links.

5.2. SME access to research

For the 5th Framework Programme the Commission adopted the harmonised definition of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which now applies to all EU activities. This definition limits the maximum number of employees to 249 compared with 499 for the 4th Framework Programme. In addition, SME access to the Framework Programme has been facilitated by the establishment of a single entry point for SMEs, backed up by a network of "national contact points" in the Member States and Associated States. In addition, the specific measures for SMEs have been extended to cover the entire (EC) Framework Programme. As before, exploratory awards are granted to enable two SMEs to prepare the submission of a research proposal, and cooperative research contracts ("CRAFT") are awarded to enable several SMEs to have research carried out by third parties.

Thanks to these new arrangements, by the end of March 2000 (under the 1999 budget) SMEs accounted for 22% of participations in the thematic programmes (EC). The corresponding financial contributions are well in excess of the 10% demanded by the European Parliament, representing as they do 18.5% of total contributions.

In particular, applications for specific measures increased by 20% in 1999 compared with the first year of the 4th Framework Programme: almost 850 applications for exploratory awards and 150 cooperative research proposals were received in the first year. Almost 40% of these projects were selected and will enable over 1 000 SMEs to participate, often for the first time, in an international research project. In almost 80% of cases SMEs with fewer than 50 employees are concerned.

Growing use has been made of specific measures under the "Quality of Life" programme, and this should ultimately considerably increase the rate of participation of SMEs in this programme. SME participation in the Framework Programme will also be stimulated by the launching of 20 or so economic and technological intelligence activities which will help SMEs to identify economic and technological trends in sectors such as leather, biomass, e-commerce, aerospace and nanotechnologies, and subsequently help them to prepare joint research projects.

5.3. Impact on competitiveness, employment and the quality of life

The impact of research on the economy and society has been the subject of numerous studies both at Community level and more generally. [12] One of the main conclusions is that there is no doubt about this impact. RTD-driven innovation is the engine for growth in many sectors of the economy, and an essential factor in social change; however, it is extremely difficult to measure this impact precisely given the diffuse nature of the effect of research.

[12] See the 1999 Annual Report (COM(99) 284 final/2) for a presentation of some of the studies carried out at Community level in 1998/1999.

Where European research per se is concerned, some aspects should be stressed which give the Framework Programme special added value. First of all, companies account for one-third of participations in the thematic programmes whether in terms of the number of participations (32.5%) or in financial terms (34%): this high level of involvement of economic operators clearly shows that Community research is responsive to some of their needs. The other participants are mainly research centres and higher education institutions, each of which categories represents some 30% of participations. In this way, Community research contributes considerably to cooperation between several spheres which do not always come together spontaneously: the business world, academic research and research centres. Similarly, the Framework Programme provides a meeting place where public-sector and private-sector research participates in equal proportions. In the case of the thematic programmes the private sector's participation is higher, accounting for 53% of total participations and 55% of the financial contributions received.

The new approach reflected in the 5th Framework Programme should further increase the economic and social impact of EU-funded RTD. The targeting of the key actions on major socio-economic issues is reflected in a "technological implementation plan" for each RTD project, the introduction of socio-economic relevance criteria in project evaluation, and the setting-up of "innovation teams" for the thematic programmes. In addition, the work programmes for the Specific Programmes were drawn up in 1999 and revised for 2000 on the basis of the opinions of the expert advisory groups for the key actions on which research users are well represented. The Commission services responsible for the various EU policies concerned by research also made their contribution to the revision of the work programmes.

The "Innovation and SMEs" programme enhances the impact of Community research. On the one hand, it is a vehicle for coordinating activities relating to SMEs and innovation and a "service provider" for innovative firms, in particular SMEs taking part in the Framework Programme. The services offered include a single entry point for SMEs and intellectual property rights (IPR) and innovation financing (LIFT) help desks. On the other, the programme runs pilot activities to promote innovation and technology transfer, an example of which is the I-TEC "Innovation and Technology Equity Capital") programme for young innovative firms in cooperation with the European Investment Fund and the European Investment Bank. Also, with its "innovation trend chart", the programme provides a reference tool for European and national decision-makers to discuss, analyse and launch innovation policy initiatives, for example, the Commission's Communication on "Innovation in a Knowledge-Driven Economy" [13].

[13] COM (2000) 567, 20 Septembre 2000

Lastly, the RTD carried out by the Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) plays an important role in the implementation of Community policies and more generally as a source of S&T references for Europe as a whole. In 1999 the JRC initiated a series of regroupings in order to optimise synergy between its activities on major issues in terms of socio-economic impact: emissions and their impact on human health and environment, global change, food, the farming environment and, in the nuclear safety field, ageing reactors.

5.4. Impact on European economic cohesion

From the point of view of cohesion, the Framework Programme complements the structural policies where RTD is concerned. The regulations of the Structural Funds for the period 2000-2006, which were approved in 1999, confirm their role in encouraging innovation and the uptake of new technologies and enhancing RTD capacities contributing to regional development by supporting research infrastructures and human resources

An analysis of the participation of the "cohesion" countries (Greece, Spain, Ireland and Portugal) in the Framework Programme shows that they play a positive role with respect to the less-favoured regions, accounting as they do for only 7.8% of R&D personnel in the EU but 14.5% of EU participations in the Framework Programme (contracts signed as of 31 March 2000). The role of the partners from these countries is far from secondary, accounting as they do for 13% of the project coordinators. In financial terms the figures are even more favourable as far as the cohesion countries are concerned: with 10.7% of the financial contributions their share of the funding granted under the Framework Programme is 2.5 times their share in total EU R&D spending (4.2%). In addition, because of the nature of European RTD partnerships the funding directly received by the participants only accounts for a fraction of the volume of RTD to which they have access. Lastly, in terms of access to European research networks, 25% of the cooperation links generated by the Framework Programme in the first year include a participant from the cohesion countries.

The Framework Programme has thus contributed towards the definition of regional strategies for innovation, technology transfer and the networking of the regions concerned, with activities funded by the "Innovation and SMEs" programme in cooperation with the Commission services responsible for regional policy.

5.5. "Combination" of national and European policies

Community research partnerships have a significant effect on the de facto consistency of certain areas of European research. It can be observed that many RTD organisations in the Member States and associated countries are tending to structure some of their research activities to make them consistent with the Framework Programme; this helps to make them mutually compatible, facilitating cooperation and synergies from EU-funded projects.

The Framework Programme also includes activities directly aimed at coordinating research activities in the EU: the "thematic networks" and the "key actions." In the case of the former 250 and in the case of the latter 30 or so actions were selected for funding in 1999, which represents a significant achievement but which should nevertheless be bettered. Additional initiatives have been taken to promote coordination within the Specific Programmes. For example, the "Quality of Life" programme management committee has set up a working party to explore the possibilities of coordination in certain areas of life sciences.

CREST, an advisory body consisting of Member States' representatives and chaired by the Commission, observes and promotes these developments. In 1999 it set up three working parties on "opportunities and challenges for the future of European research policy," one of which is addressing the coordination of RTD policies. Commission staff have provided factual support. This working party's report analyses and clarifies the coordination concept, the parties involved, the framework and the possible obstacles. It has been submitted to the Commission which will use it as a basis for drawing conclusions on the implementation of the coordination aspects of the European Research Area, the implementation of the 5th Framework Programme and its deliberations on Community research after 2002 (cf. section 6).

6. outlook

6.1. 6.1. Creation of a European Research Area

In accordance with the conclusions of the Lisbon European Council and the wishes expressed by the Council of Ministers on 15 June 2000, the Commission and the Member States have undertaken to take important measures rapidly in order to create a European Research Area. The success of these measures depends on the active involvement of the Member States and the Commission. They include the following:

*Developing an open method of coordination for benchmarking national R&D policies and activities using a set of indicators. These indicators and a methodology will be established by the Commission in cooperation with the Member States.

*Promoting the networking of national and joint research programmes on a voluntary basis. Major objectives will be to improve mutual information and gradually open up the national programmes. The EU will encourage these developments and examine the advisability of incentive measures at EU level.

*Mapping S&T excellence in the Union. The Commission will set out objectives and a methodology this year to carry out this mapping exercise in close cooperation with the Member States.

*Creating a very high-speed trans-European telecommunications network for research linking the national research networks, with the help in particular of the European Investment Bank.

*Analysing the obstacles to the mobility of researchers in Europe and initiating the reforms needed to remove these obstacles. A working party of national experts will be set up to examine the situation and propose the measures needed.

*Encouraging initiatives to promote innovation and technological "start-ups," in particular with the help of the European Investment Bank. The exchange of information on these issues will also be improved by introducing an "innovation trend chart."

*Introducing a Community patent on the basis of the new Commission proposals.

*Monitoring the development of European RTD policies and progress towards a European Research Area. This monitoring will take the form, for example, of regular Commission reports on the state of research in Europe.

In addition, the Commission will shortly be presenting operational initiatives for other aspects of the European Research Area, such as the establishment of a scientific reference system in support of policy-making, the regional dimension of research, the opening-up of the European Research Area to the rest of the world, the relationship between science and technology and society, and the ethical aspects of research. The objectives of the European Research Area will also be reflected in the EU's future activities in support of research.

6.2. Implementation of the 5th Framework Programme

Commission staff are analysing the conclusions that can be drawn about the implementation of the Framework Programme so far, the aim being to make it more accessible and user-friendly for all research players and to ensure that it contributes as effectively as possible to the creation of a European Research Area.

In this connection, the Commission's services are basing themselves on their own work (including the participant satisfaction surveys), the 1999 monitoring panels' reports, and the conclusions of the high-level experts given the task in the first half of 2000 of evaluating Community research over the last five years. Where the management of the Framework Programme is concerned, the interservice working group set up at the beginning of 2000 has proposed major simplifications, in particular concerning information for proposers, the contract preparation forms, and the procedure and registration form for the evaluators database. The Council and Parliament have been kept regularly informed of these developments.

The Commission has drawn conclusions from these exercises in its mid-term review of the Framework Programme sets out indications for the progress of the 5th Framework Programme in 2001 and 2002.

6.3. Preparation of future Community research activities

These exercises have also culminated in the first guidelines for research activities after 2002 which have been presented in the Communication Making a Reality of the European Research Area: Guidelines for EU Research Activities (2002-2006). [14] The objective is notably to configure the Framework Programme as a catalyst for helping to make a reality of the European Research Area in synergy with other instruments.

[14] COM(2000) 612, 4 October 2000.

The aim of the communication is to spark off detailed debates in the European Parliament, the Council, in the EU's advisory bodies and among all interested parties. On the basis of these debates, the Commission will prepare formal proposals for the next Framework Programme which it will submit in the first quarter of 2001.

As a result, the Parliament/Council co-decision process will be able to start in time for the new Framework Programme to be adopted well before the end of 2002, thus ensuring the continuity and continuation of Community RTD activities.

ANNEX 1 ACTIVITIES OF THE SPECIFIC PROGRAMMES

CONTENTS

Quality of life and management of living resources 26

User-friendly information society 37

Competitive and sustainable growth 46

Energy, environment and sustainable development 56

Confirming the international role of Community research 67

Promotion of innovation and encouragement of SME participation 72

Improving human research potential and the socio-economic knowledge base 77

Joint Research Centre 82

Nuclear energy 85

Quality of life and management of living resources

>TABLE POSITION>

The "Quality of Life" Programme was successfully launched in 1999, with a major call for proposals published on 6 March 1999. The response rate and quality of proposals received has been very satisfactory overall, with particularly a good mobilisation of the private sector. The new "problem-solving" approach has led to interesting proposals and notably to some major "clusters", associating several RTD proposals towards a common aim. The emphasis on the socio-economic dimension has also been taken up in many proposals although further progress is needed in some areas. The interservice group of directors has proved successful as a means of orientating the programme activities towards policy needs. "Mini-teams" have been set up to deliver operational advice for each key-action and memos have been made available to proposers and evaluators explaining how RTD proposals could be made to support EU policies.

Implementation of the recommendations of the 1998 monitoring panels

The 1998 programme monitoring recommendations for the FAIR, BIOTECH 2 and BIOMED 2 programmes focused mainly on strategic issues (relevance and relationship to policy of research, dissemination and exploitation of results), specific actions (provision of QuickScan for patent novelty search and Medline to proposal evaluators) and FP4 project monitoring. Despite the pressures in 1999 of implementing the first phase of the Quality of Life programme, the programme management has responded to the recommendations or is in the process of doing so. Further improvements in project monitoring procedures are planned for 2000.

Main recommendations of the 1999 monitoring panel

The 2000 monitoring panel commended the quality of programme management and the successful launch of the programme despite high time pressure and heavy workloads. It recommended notably to make the information package for potential applicants clearer; to experiment with a revised evaluation procedure where evaluators would receive anonymous parts of proposals in advance of evaluation sessions; to involve more pro-actively the various stakeholders and experts in the socio-economic aspects of research; and to improve feedback to proposers on the assessment of their projects. It also suggested that all projects should be subjected to a formal mid-term review with external expertise. These recommendations are being carefully considered and some are already being implemented.

The "Quality of Life" Programme Committee met eight times in 1999, efficiently following and supporting the programme's activities (Member States delegations had met twice before as an informal discussion group to help prepare the work programme). All associated countries participate in the meetings as observers. In the autumn meetings, the update of the work programme was discussed and eventually endorsed. In 2000, the Programme Committee will continue to monitor the work programme update and give its opinion on the funding of selected projects. It will also follow up the fine-tuning of the evaluation procedure. Lastly, it has set up ad-hoc working groups to work on the impact assessment of FP4 and FP5 "Life Sciences" Programmes and investigate possible synergies between EC and national activities.

The "Quality of Life" Programme has 5 Expert Advisory Groups (EAGs) to cover its six key actions (KAs). In addition, two High-level Expert Groups (HLEGs) were established in 1999 to advise the Commission on strategic issues concerning the generic activities. The Expert Advisory Groups have each met three times in 1999, and the HLEGS once. In addition to the group meetings, it was decided in several cases that targeted workshops would help forge the link between the research community and the stakeholders and focus advice on specific issues. These workshops dealt with Ageing, Bioentrepeneurship, Antibiotic Resistance and GMO Research in Perspective. In addition, joint meetings of the Expert Advisory Group Chairs and Vice-Chairs were organised to discuss issues of common concern, ensure co-ordination between the Expert Advisory Groups and HLEGs, maintain the cohesion and unity of the programme and ensure a broad strategic vision.

The update of the work programme for 2000 has been heavily influenced by the advice of the Expert Advisory Groups [15]. As was done in 1999, and prior to each new call for proposals, the work programme will be updated with inputs from Commission services, the Expert Advisory Groups and the Programme Committee, taking into account the latest scientific and societal developments, as well as the response to the first calls of the programme.

[15] Published on the Internet: http://europa.eu.int/comm/dg12/fp5/eag.html

Key action 1: Food, Nutrition and Health

Activities in 1999

The first call for proposals for the key action was published on 6 March 1999 with the deadlines of 1 June and 15 November. By the close of the first deadline, 190 proposals for shared-cost actions were submitted, of which 180 were declared eligible and evaluated and 39 adopted, with a Community contribution of EUR65.7 million.

The proposals selected during this first call for proposals correspond well to the scientific priorities. They are multidisciplinary and will help to achieve the principal objectives of the key action, which aims to provide European consumers with healthy, safe and high-quality products while increasing the competitiveness of European industry. This first call has led to a satisfactory level of industrial penetration (the number of projects with at least one partner from industry) of 67% out of the proposals selected.

In the field of nutrition, eight projects are aimed directly at improving understanding of the mechanisms underlying the links between food components, dietary habits and optimum state of health (antioxidants and colon cancer, calcium and osteoporosis, etc.). As regards food safety, seven projects are aimed at the development of methods for the detection of undesirable substances (e.g. hormones and pathogens). Five projects especially address the aspects of food safety and the traceability of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

In addition, the key action adopted 34 proposals for exploratory awards and six cooperative research projects in the framework of support for SMEs. Ten accompanying measures were also selected, most of them concerned with the organisation of conferences on important topics, such as the International Congress on Improved Traditional Foods for the Next Century held in Valence on 28 and 29 October 1999. Lastly, to support the training and mobility of researchers, 18 individual mobility grants were funded as well as five training sites and three scholarships in business.

Examples of projects launched in 1999

A "cluster" bringing together 3 shared-cost research projects is concerned with coeliac disease and its genetic components among the EU population. This concerns the problem of the most widespread food intolerance among the EU population and will consequently have a major impact on public health. The project will develop a simple diagnostic test to enable the extent of coeliac disease to be better evaluated at EU level, to decipher its genetic components, and to study its pathogenesis on the basis of recent discoveries in immunology.

A second cluster composed a posteriori is aimed at preventing and reducing the presence of mycotoxins by application of the HACCP (hazard analysis and control of critical points) method. Mycotoxins may be produced by mould in foods such as cereals and fruit and can be transferred by the food chain in milk. They are carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic even in minute concentrations and cause cancers and liver and kidney diseases. The studies will concentrate on the processing of cereals before and after harvesting (prevention and possibilities of decontamination by biological means). The results on ochratoxin A and the Fusarium mould toxins will serve as a general model for natural toxins and for undesirable substances.

Activities in 2000

In addition to continuing with the evaluation and selection of the proposals received in response to the various calls for proposals, the key action will review the work programme with an eye to 2001. For this purpose, two meetings are planned with the expert advisory group, seminars will be organised on certain subjects and a Web page has been developed for the members of the advisory group to facilitate detailed exchanges.

Key action 2: Control of infectious diseases

Activities in 1999

The main objective of the key action is to develop new and improved vaccines, to identify strategies for treatment and prevention and to develop the research base for public health practices related to infectious diseases. Only the area 2.1. on the "development of vaccines" was open for the June 1999 deadline with an indicative budget of EUR64 million. Generally, the response to the call in terms of quality and relevance of the proposals was high, and the problem-solving concept of the key action had been understood. The applications covered all different areas of vaccine research, including human vaccines, transdisease vaccinology, animal vaccines and aquaculture vaccines.

A total of 34 projects were selected for funding out of the 110 proposals received. Industrial participation was encouraging and the industrial penetration (presence of at least one industrial participant in a project) was close to 80% among the selected projects. The expected impact of selected proposals is particularly high among the "Human Vaccines" action line where four "cluster" projects will target the development of vaccines against infectious diseases of major social and economic importance : AIDS, hepatitis C, tuberculosis and malaria. In addition, one project on respiratory syncytical viruses (RSV) is building on high innovative technology and other projects will cover the development of vaccines against meningococcal, Shigella and Hantavirus infections. The action line on "Transdisease Vaccinology" presents for example a cluster project on mucosal immunisation aiming at improving the delivery of vaccine antigens through mucosal surfaces and one project aiming at the optimisation of vaccines against three important early-life human diseases (pneumonia, pertussis and RSV). For the "Animal Vaccines", for instance, two projects concern the post-weaning multisystemic wasting syndrome, an emerging disease of pigs causing great economic losses. In the action line of "Aquaculture Vaccines", the selected project aims to replace currently used vaccine adjuvants with less harmful products with possible benefits for the whole veterinary field.

Examples of projects launched in 1999

The main objective of the EuroVac "cluster" project is to create a European vaccine candidate against the HIV virus. The sub-type B (mainly European) and the sub-type C (which is spreading most rapidly) will be included. EuroVac has several closely linked components: coordination (decision-making), production (testing of vaccine candidates) and development (clinical trials on human beings and primates). The Commission has invested EUR 8.8 million in this project out of a total cost of EUR 17.8 million.

More than five million Europeans are infected by Hepatitis C. At the present time, the problem is more serious than AIDS and the impact will be even more visible between 2010 and 2020. For the first time, 20 renowned laboratories, including two in industry, have come together at European level to combat this infection and to develop a vaccine. This "cluster" project, with a total cost of EUR 7.3 million, is bringing together fields such as genetic engineering, immunology, vaccinology, molecular biology, chemistry, structural biology and clinical experience to create a new scientific research structure.

Activities in 2000

The 330 proposals submitted for the 15 November 1999 deadline on the areas "Strategies for treatment and prevention" and "Public Health aspects" are being evaluated and selected in 2000. Furthermore, several workshops on topics related to the work programme are planned as well as the evaluation of new proposals for the October 2000 deadline.

Key action 3: The Cell factory

Activities in 1999

The first call for proposals for RTD actions in the "Cell Factory" was published on 6 March 1999 with 2 deadlines for RTD projects, thematic networks and concerted actions: 01/06/1999 and 15/11/1999. Other types of actions: accompanying measures, fellowships, SME exploratory awards and cooperative research, were open throughout 1999 with different cut-off dates where proposals received until that date were evaluated.

As many as 399 RTD proposals were received at the closing of the first deadline which covered around 65% of the research action lines of the key action. At the end of the evaluation process, 41 proposals were selected for funding, with an average EC contribution by project close to EUR 2 million. A direct input on industrial competitiveness is expected from many of these proposals, where the industrial penetration (percentage of projects having at least one industrial partner) is close to 100%. In many cases more than one industry is involved in the consortium.

The projects to be supported address a vast variety of areas for which the "cell factory" is at the core of the problem. Among the top proposals, some address health aspects derived from cell factories such as novel concepts for treating degenerative, neurological or muscle diseases, cancer or genetic disorders. Other projects address novel concepts for the production of new antibiotics and innovative ideas for using plants, sponges and fungi as a cell factory for producing molecules of high therapeutic value. There are also projects addressing problems faced by the pharmaceutical industry and with high social and political relevance such as rapid control techniques and methods aimed at reducing the number of animals used for toxicology tests by using in vitro tests. Environmental aspects are equally addressed by funded projects, notably: treatment of new biocatalysts/enzymes, biodegradation of herbicides, phytoremediation, heavy metals decontamination and bioavailability. Finally, the proposals to be supported in the action line dealing with processes and products from cell factories can significantly contribute to improving quality in food, agro-industry and fine chemicals. There are also projects with a broad range of interest, like electric DNA chips for the monitoring of expression systems, with broad applications in many industrial sectors.

The second deadline has elicited 117 proposals which were evaluated during December 1999 and January 2000.

Examples of projects launched in 1999

The transplantation of umbilical cord blood stem cells may constitute a very powerful therapy for the treatment of a large number of potentially fatal diseases, including leukaemia. It seems to offer interesting alternatives to the more conventional transplantations using bone marrow. A European network will organise the transfer of expertise on the technologies concerned in the European clinical centres in order to improve, evaluate, standardise and finally apply them. The project will permit a pan-European evaluation of the impact of this type of transplantation of stem cells on the survival of patients. The results will also lead to the creation of new protocols for gene and umbilical cord blood stem cell therapy, which may be of major benefit in the long term.

The waste water resulting from the production of vaccines is highly polluted by organic substances containing mercury which are used in the process as a disinfectant (thiomersal). One project is developing a new technology for the treatment of this type of effluent: it proposes a biotechnology for the selected extraction of thiomersal from waste water using new types of non-porous membranes for ion exchange. In a second stage, the thiomersal will be degraded to form metallic mercury by very efficient micro-organisms, strains made by genetic modification under the project. A pilot installation based on the concept of "biological containment" will be developed allowing continuous operation and the recovery of the metallic mercury produced. This project therefore has three main aspects:

-the purification of highly toxic waters;

-the use of genetically modified organisms under strict safety rules;

-the application of the process under industrial conditions.

Activities in 2000

In addition to the evaluation and selection of proposals submitted, the emphasis is on the mid-term review of the programme and the strategic analysis of the work programme, including its revision for the year 2001. In this context, a series of interactions with the "Quality of Life" Programme Committee and the External Advisory Group on Cell Factory are foreseen. As far as implementation is concerned, particular efforts are made on promoting the exploitation of results of the previous and current Framework Programmes projects related to the "cell factory" in the industrial and public sectors.

Key action 4: Environment and health

Activities in 1999

The key action aims at assessing health hazards and reducing the health effects (including allergies) of environmental factors. Its ultimate objective is to support health and environmental policy-making and facilitate information on health and environment to the public.

The 1999 call received 162 proposals, demonstrating the high expectations of the scientific community in this innovative area of research. After evaluation, 25 projects were selected for funding in 1999 for a total EU contribution of EUR 35.95 million. The projects selected offer a good coverage of the work programme and promise to make concrete contributions to public health and environmental policy. They will provide a direct input into risk analysis and assessment, improvement of occupational health and safety and new preventive approaches. New scientific knowledge to support regulatory initiatives will be generated. In many cases, the industrial implications of the selected proposals are important with potentially significant spin-offs.

Five proposals address the potential health impact of electromagnetic radiation. Several projects are related to safety and toxicity due to chemical exposure (flame retardants, asbestos substitutes, pesticides, dioxins and other endocrine disrupters). Four proposals tackle the increasing public health problem of allergy. Three proposals deal with air pollution, developing new quantitative and mechanistic data on the effects of air pollution and new bio-markers. Other projects are related to UV exposure and to health effects related to noise pollution.

Finally, this key action also funded 2 accompanying measures and 2 fellowships in 1999.

Examples of projects launched in 1999

The European prospective study on the environment, allergies and the lungs brings together 21 teams from 13 different countries to collect detailed information from more than 10 000 young individuals. The aim of the project is to determine and predict the incidence of allergies, allergic diseases and lung-related problems, and to evaluate the risks of troubles of this kind attributable to the environment as well as the effect of certain factors such as the taking of steroids. The results of the study should make it possible to improve the prevention of these health problems and provide a better quality of life for the patients concerned. They will also constitute a major contribution to the policy to combat air pollution.

In the context of increasing use of mobile telephones and fears about potential health effects related to this use, a project aims to determine whether the use of mobile telephones increases the risk of cancer. Multicentric studies will be carried out, focusing on the most common tumours such as tumours of the brain, the salivary gland and the acoustic nerve. Medical data and detailed information about the use of mobile telephones will be collected from people aged between 30 and 59 in 13 countries, including seven Member States and two associated countries. To optimise the biostatistical quality and the epidemiological value of the study, the teams in the 13 countries concerned will use the same research protocol and the data analysis will be coordinated by the CIRC (International Centre for Cancer Research - Lyon).

Activities in 2000

In 2000, proposals submitted by 15 March 2000 will be evaluated and their selection process finalised. Furthermore several workshops and seminars on topics related to the work programme (EMF, allergy, socio-economic aspects) are planned in 2000.

Key action 5: Sustainable management of agriculture, fisheries and forestry, and development of rural areas including mountain areas

Activities in 1999

The first call for proposals for key action 5 was published on 6 March 1999 with a first deadline for submission of 8 June and a second of 15 November 1999. At the closing of the first deadline, for which about 50% of the fields of research were open, 301 proposals had been submitted. After evaluation, 71 proposals were adopted, four of them on a reserve list, with a total Community contribution of EUR 94.5 million. The principal objectives and priorities are covered by the proposals selected, most of which are integrated and multidisciplinary.

This first call was marked by a substantial rate of participation from the private sector, not only in the area of agro-industrial research (100% industrial penetration) but also in projects concerning primary agricultural production where the participation of industry has substantially increased compared with the previous Community programmes. Similarly, the key action particularly attracted the interest of SMEs, which account for 50% of the industrial partners in the projects selected.

The proposals selected are particularly relevant for supporting the common agricultural policy. With regard to fishery and aquacultural research, the 14 projects selected will contribute to different aspects of the common fisheries policy, in particular the management of fishery resources. The rate of response in the field "Monitoring and control of the common fisheries policy", which was new for this programme, was encouraging, even if only one single proposal could finally be selected. Lastly, for the sector "Economic and social bases of the common fisheries policy" the number and the quality of the proposals proved to be very satisfactory with a success rate of 50%.

Examples of projects launched in 1999

The project entitled "Development of the system for the optical detection of field crop diseases to reduce pesticides by targeted use" will help to make the environment healthier by reducing the doses of pesticides used. It uses a real-time, remote detection system capable of detecting diseases in arable crops at an early stage. They can therefore be treated as early as possible, while they are still only detectable in the form of spots in the fields, using much smaller quantities of pesticides.

Another project deals with the use of growth-promoting antibiotics in animal feed, which has been prohibited by the EU because of the risks to human health. At the moment, Community methods of analysis are based on non-specific microbiological tests which are sensitive to interference from certain food components and are therefore not very efficient. The aims of the project are two-fold:

-the development of immunoassay tests using innovative approaches which are more reliable, highly specific and less sensitive to interference than existing tests;

-the development of confirmation techniques using mass spectrometry for the sure identification and quantification of each antibiotic.

The participation of final users and political decision-makers, together with the performance of tests in collaboration with reference laboratories, will make it possible to check the effectiveness of the methods developed and their use.

Activities in 2000

In addition to the further evaluation and selection of proposals submitted, the emphasis is on the review of the work programme for 2001. In this context, three seminars have been arranged with the members of the EAG between February and April 2000 on the topics "Development of sustainable, competitive agriculture in Europe", "Forestry research" and "Rural development".

Key action 6: The ageing population and disabilities

Activities in 1999

The first call for proposals for the key action was the main activity for 1999. A total of 211 eligible proposals were received requesting an EU contribution of EUR 363 million. Following evaluation, 29 projects were selected for funding, with an estimated EU contribution of about EUR 41 million. More particularly the distribution of these proposals was as follows: 16 on age-related illnesses and health problems; 6 on the determinants of healthy ageing; 3 on the health and social care services; 3 on demography and epidemiology; and one for coping with functional limitations. Six projects target the aetiology of and novel forms of treatment for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, others include projects on improved organisation and care delivery, enhanced outdoor mobility, patient involvement instruments to improve general practice care for older people, etc. The key action also financed 3 accompanying measures and 18 fellowships.

Furthermore, major efforts have been undertaken to involve all the stakeholders in priority setting and the implementation of the key action. In this context a workshop was organised in December 1999 with European NGOs representatives, in order to exchange views and define the ways of their active involvement in research activities.

Examples of projects launched in 1999

The GENTLE/S project will contribute to the development of a "robotised" means of physiotherapy for elderly persons in convalescence following a heart attack. The 12 European organisations involved in this project will study machine-assisted means of treatment not only from the scientific and technical viewpoint, but also from the viewpoint of their acceptability to elderly patients and practitioners. The potential long-term impact on the containment of health costs will also be evaluated. The treatment envisaged will be available at the patient's home, with a link to the clinical centre to allow a large degree of interaction. For example, the robot will be able to inform the centre about the patient's progress and make adjustments in line with the progress made. The stakes are extremely high, given that 700 000 Europeans are struck by cardiovascular incidents each year, two-thirds of them people aged 65 or over, and that recuperation for those who survive is long, arduous and often painful.

Alzheimer's disease, the main cause of dementia in the elderly, is increasing in terms of its medical, social and economic costs to European society and to families and carers. With related dementias, it affects 5% of people between 65 and 70, and 20% over 85, causing a progressive decline in cognitive and intellectual functions. No effective treatment or possibility of preventing or delaying its appearance exists at the moment. The seven partners from six European countries in the project selected will try to define new therapeutic strategies for preventing or delaying the development of the disease. Recent data seem to support the "inflammatory theory", according to which the neurolesions in Alzheimer's disease are partly caused by a local inflammatory response. This consortium therefore proposes to evaluate this hypothesis and to identify targets to enable the linkage between inflammation and neurodegeneration to be halted. This identification should lead to the validation and then the testing of pharmacological treatment strategies. The participation of a partner from the pharmaceutical industry confirms the importance and potential of this project.

Activities in 2000

The main activity for the year 2000 is the second call for proposals of the key action (deadline 15 March 2000). The work programme has been focused more towards the care of older people and the research necessary to underpin social and health policy in the face of the major demographic changes expected. The work programme also emphasises the importance of bringing together the research sector with the health and social care sectors and with representatives of older people and their careers.

Furthermore, in cooperation with the members of the Experts Advisory Group (EAG), a number of exploratory workshops are being organised on highly relevant issues of the ageing population. These workshops are being held with a view to combine and integrate European research efforts in the biological, biomedical, psychological, economic and social fields by raising the issue of "ageing" as a priority subject for top quality cross-sectoral multidisciplinary research.

RDT activities of a generic nature

Activities in 1999

A total of 387 proposals have been received by the deadline 1 June 1999 and 551 by the deadline 15 November 1999. For the first deadline, after evaluation and negotiation 64 proposals have been selected, representing an overall selection rate of 17.3%. The average funding per proposal was EUR 1.66 million.

Area 7 Diseases: the selected projects show a good coverage of the different research topics outlined within the work programme. They cover cancer research (9 proposals) cardiovascular research (6 proposals), diabetes (2 proposals), inflammatory / immune disorders (4 proposals) and rare disorders such as myopathies (3 proposals). Some of these projects are transdisciplinary, assessing fundamental mechanisms relevant to several disorders. As a whole, the proposals achieve a good integration of basic and clinical research in the various areas addressed.

Area 8 Genomes: 18 proposals were selected associating a total of 155 partners: 3 proposals in plant (Arabidopsis) functional genomics; 2 proposals in microbial (Listeria, Bacillus subtilis) genomics; 13 proposals in human/medical genomics and genome methodology development. Medical topics addressed include pancreas development and diabetes, autism, reproductive development, cancer, immunity and hereditary deafness. All projects include appropriate public dissemination of results. A medium-term result and application may be expected for example, by a project on functional genomics for diagnosis and treatment of microbial infections and mitochondrial myopathies.

Area 9 Neurosciences: 12 proposals were selected. In the area on cell communication, proposals include the development, application and commercial exploitation plans of new technologies which will bring novel and valuable tools to the neuroscience community. Two projects address an important issue in neuroscience: the understanding of signalling for death and survival in neurons. Other projects have been selected on neuroinformatics, and one project addresses a database generator for neuroimaging which is regarded as innovative and fully competitive with US funded neuroimage databases.

Area 10 Public health research - drug abuse: 3 proposals were selected, aiming at developing therapies in (illicit) drug addiction (cocaine, heroine, opioids in general), one at the receptor level and two in health economics and prevention.

Area 11 Disabilities: the sole proposal selected deals with the disability burden of mental disorders in Europe. It will estimate the prevalence and risk factors of mental disorder, assess their impact on disability and handicap, and evaluate the quality of mental health services in 4 European countries.

Area 12 Ethics: 5 proposals were selected reflecting a concern to develop methodologies in bioethics (empirical methods in particular) and to address public policy issues rather than specific technological developments. To this extent the funded projects will help to build the base on which continued and future bioethical work should be conducted, but will also help to integrate bioethics into the critical areas of science, medicine, research and public policy.

Area 13 Socio-economics: the sole proposal selected builds on the Eurobarometer public opinion fieldwork and provides interesting comparative social scientific research, critical examination of issues in the life sciences, their applications in medicine and food, and how these relate to media coverage and regulatory activities.

Examples of projects launched in 1999

"European cluster on the genetic resolution of myopathies": congenital muscular dystrophies are rare genetic diseases affecting the skeletal muscle, in particular in children, and are accompanied by motor disabilities and cardiac and respiratory complications. These rare or low-incidence diseases are a non-negligible cause of morbidity, mortality and early disability. From an economic viewpoint, they cannot be neglected since the medical counselling, diagnosis and intervention needed cost much more than is invested in more common diseases. The aetiology of a large number of these diseases is unknown, while prevention depends on basic knowledge being available. The fact that there are thousands of rare diseases with a low incidence and that limited budgets are devoted to scientific research means that cooperation between Member States and work at Community level in this field are essential. In this context, the aim of the project is to evaluate the clinical, biochemical and genetic characteristics within a population of patients affected by two forms of muscular dystrophy. A detailed knowledge of how these diseases develop and their genetic bases will make it possible to improve diagnosis and the assistance given to patients and will facilitate the work of families and groups assisting them.

"Ethical questions in clinical tests carried out in collaboration with the developing countries": the ethical questions raised by research carried out in developing countries are very important and very difficult to resolve, as shown by the difficulties with clinical tests for Aids in Africa and Thailand. Firstly, this research involves individuals who are vulnerable because of the economic and social context. Secondly, researchers are faced with the problem of the differences between attitudes in their country of origin and those in the developing countries. Because of their European and often international nature, EU research programmes have to respond to ethical questions. The aim of this bioethics research programme is to draft an ethics manual which can be used by the funding agencies, the members of ethics committees and researchers involved in research projects in collaboration with developing countries where these research projects are likely to raise ethical questions.

Activities in 2000

In addition to the further evaluation and selection of proposals, the emphasis is on the review of the work programme for 2001. In this context, four workshops with the members of two high-level expert groups have been organised on the topics: chronic and degenerative diseases, genomes, neurosciences, public health, disabilities, bioethics, and socio-economic aspects.

Support for research infrastructures

Activities in 1999

An open Call for Proposals was published on 6 March 1999 with two initial cut-off dates in 1999. The indicative budget available for both cut-off dates was EUR20 million. Because this type of "research infrastructures" action is new to most of the life sciences, it was expected that only a limited number of proposals would be received on the first deadline, and that therefore less than half of the budget available for this deadline would be committed. As a result of the 1999 evaluation procedure, a total of 5 proposals have been selected out of 15 evaluated, with an average funding per proposal of EUR 0.915 million.

The selected proposals provide important resources to the bioscience research community at large. They focus on "steroids in health and disease", "development of a network of cancer family syndrome registries in Eastern Europe", "comprehensive yeast genome database", "a European transgenic and experimental pathology database and teaching facility", and "European comparative genetic resource".

Considering that this is the response to the first cut-off date of the first call for proposals in the new programme, the priority list reflects the involvement of European infrastructures operators and users who are supporting the research priorities of the "Quality of Life" work programme.

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Examples of results of the 4th Framework Programme

The project "Functional food science in Europe" has made it possible to establish a European multidisciplinary network, the result of which has been the strict evaluation of the scientific basis required to show that specific foods and food components may have beneficial effects on health. These results have played a major part in highlighting this field of growing interest in Europe.

The Biotech demonstration project on high cell density bioreactor aims at producing therapeutic proteins in large amounts, fast and at competitive prices. Mammalian cells used for the production of therapeutic proteins are cultivated by tremendously expensive industrial bioprocesses which have a strong impact on the costs and the quality of the biologicals during the downstream processing. This project aims at demonstrating on a pilot scale the technical feasibility and economic advantages of a mammalian cell-dependent bioprocess interlinking high cell density and ultra-fast on-line downstream processing. Preliminary results with this new bioprocess show that it is possible to obtain gram quantities of a particular protein with a very high degree of purity in only hours.

A user-friendly Information Society (IST Programme)

>TABLE POSITION>

The strategic objective of the Information Society Technologies (IST) Programme is to reap the benefits of the Information Society in Europe, both by speeding up its arrival and by making sure that the requirements of private individuals and businesses are met. The programme consists of four key actions focused on specific objectives, added to which are an activity concerning research on future and emerging technologies and an activity on the interconnection of research networks. These activities are complementary and are a cluster of several technologies, systems, applications and service.

The four key actions concern sys