European Parliament resolution on Security Research - The Next Steps (2004/2171(INI))
Date: 2005-06-23
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: EU financing, EU programme, European security, applied research, common foreign and security policy, common security and defence policy, cooperation policy, research and development, research programme

8.6.2006

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P6_TA(2005)0259

Security Research

European Parliament resolution on Security Research — The Next Steps (2004/2171(INI))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, signed in Rome on 29 October

2004,

— having regard to the European Security Strategy entitled ‘A secure Europe in a better world’, adopted by

the European Council on 12 December 2003,

— having regard to the communication from the Commission entitled ‘Security Research — The Next
Steps’ (COM(2004)0590), and to the Commission's previous communications (COM(2003)0113 and
COM(2004)0072),

— having regard to the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament
entitled ‘Building our common Future — Policy challenges and Budgetary means of the Enlarged Union
2007-2013’ (COM(2004)0101), as well as the Commission's Communication entitled ‘Science and tech-
nology, the key to Europe's future — Guidelines for future European Union policy to support research’
(COM(2004)0353),

— having regard to the communications from the Commission to the Council and the European Parlia-
ment on ‘The prevention of and the fight against terrorist financing through measures to improve the
exchange of information, to strengthen transparency and enhance the traceability of financial trans-
actions’ (COM(2004)0700), ‘Preparedness and consequence management in the fight against terrorism’
(COM(2004)0701) and ‘Prevention, preparedness and response to terrorist attacks’ (COM(2004)0698),

— having regard to its resolutions of 15 May 1997 (1), 28 January 1999 (2) and 10 April 2002 (3) on Euro-

pean defence-related industries,

— having regard to its resolution of 30 November 2000 on the establishment of a common European

security and defence policy after Cologne and Helsinki (4),

— having regard to its resolution of 10 April 2003 on the new European security and defence architecture

— priorities and deficiencies (5),

— having regard to its resolution of 20 November 2003 on EU Defence Equipment Policy (6),

— having regard to the Proposal for a White Paper on European defence as presented by the EU Institute

for Security Studies in May 2004,

— having regard to the report on a Human Security Doctrine for Europe as presented to the EU High

Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy on 15 September 2004,

— having regard to the report of the Group of Personalities in the field of Security Research, entitled

‘Research for a Secure Europe’, of 15 March 2004,

— having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the opinions of the Committee on
Justice and Home Affairs

Industry, Research and Energy and the Committee on Civil Liberties,
(A6-0103/2005),

(1) OJ C 167, 2.6.1997, p. 137.
(2) OJ C 128, 7.5.1999, p. 86.
(3) OJ C 127 E, 29.5.2003, p. 582.
(4) OJ C 228, 13.8.2001, p. 173.
(5) OJ C 64 E, 12.3.2004, p. 599.
(6) OJ C 87 E, 7.4.2004, p. 518.

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A. whereas following recent geopolitical, social and technological changes and recent world events such as
the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 in the USA and 11 March 2004 in Madrid, security has
become a more urgent issue, and whereas the EU Member States should be better prepared to deal
with new security threats through more effective use of their know-how,

B. whereas the enlargement to twenty five Member States generates new kinds of security challenges for a

new Europe that now borders on more vulnerable regions,

C. whereas these new threats make use of new technologies, ignore state borders, exploit the inherent
openness and transparency of modern high-technology and democratic European societies, and menace
the security of Member States both from outside and inside EU territory, rendering it more difficult to
distinguish between internal and external security,

D. whereas the European Union must be capable of ensuring the protection of its citizens, of contributing
to the stability of the European continent and neighbouring areas and of contributing to the preser-
vation of peace and international security in accordance with the principles of the United Nations
Charter and the objectives of the Common Foreign and Security Policy,

E. whereas it is difficult to ensure a credible security and defence policy and a more secure Europe without
technologically advanced instruments and capabilities which use state of the art technology to keep
security threats to a minimum,

F. whereas, despite the EU potential regarding research and development security technologies, the lack of
a specific framework for security research at EU level and the high level of fragmentation and dupli-
cation in security research systems and infrastructures generate significant obstacles to delivering cost-
effective solutions,

G. whereas the total United States investment in homeland security is on average four times greater than
that invested by Europe, and this investment, which does not include research into dual-use techno-
logies funded by the US Department of Defense, is spread across a range of US departments thus
representing a comprehensive approach to security research;

H. whereas the investment in research and development in the defence sector in Member States is approxi-
increasing the risk of the EU

mately five times less than the corresponding investment in the US,
becoming more vulnerable and dependent in this field,

I. whereas the distinction between civil and military research is becoming increasingly blurred,

J. whereas security research could play a strategic role in enhancing Europe's industrial competitiveness
and in strengthening its scientific and technological base, as established by the Lisbon and Barcelona
objectives,

1. Welcomes the Commission proposal for a European Security Research Programme (ESRP); stresses the
need to develop a structured and efficient security research programme at Union level, in order to address
current and future security challenges and clearly-defined European requirements, to enhance the security
and safety of European citizens and to ensure European credibility and effectiveness in ESDP operations,
while contributing to the growth and competitiveness of the European economy;

2.
Considers that an efficient security research programme should be based on a coordinated reference
framework, involving relevant security research stakeholders and appropriate and rationalised funding, and
should be built on existing Community experience in the management of joint research programmes;

3.
Underlines the public-interest nature of all aspects relating to security research, and accordingly calls
for the programmes and projects in this field to be given sufficient stability and for the budgetary allocation
to be linked to the trend in gross domestic product, so as to secure the greatest possible continuity over
time and the best results;

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The European Security Research Programme and its financing

Thursday 23 June 2005

4.
Takes note of the Commission's proposal to develop the ESRP as part of the Seventh EU Research
Framework Programme; underlines that the ESRP should respect the particular nature of security research,
taking into account specific elements such as rules governing intellectual property rights, treatment of
classified information, protection of secure information and technology transfer; stresses that the activities
of the ESRP should be based on the codecision procedure;

5.
Invites the Commission to take account of the fact that the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party
has been established to advise the Commission on any Community measures affecting the rights and free-
doms of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and privacy;

6.
Encourages the Council and the Commission, in cooperation with the European Parliament, before any
funding for the research is allocated, to establish clearly, within and between their respective bodies, the
objectives and priorities to be pursued in the area of security research and the role to be given at each stage
to the Member States and to the European agencies involved;

7.
Calls on the Council and the Commission to set the priorities on the basis of the operational program-
ming framework for the implementation of the Hague Programme on the fight against terrorism in the case
of internal security and the European Security Strategy in the case of external security;

8.
Recommends that the future European security research programme should include among its prior-
ities the fight against terrorism, territorial monitoring, civil defence, control of the Union's external frontiers,
and other areas in which Community action can provide added value without entering into conflict with the
competences of the Member States;

9.
Considers that one of the main goals of the programme should be the protection of the external
borders of the Union and the protection of critical infrastructure such as trans-European networks and
nuclear power plants;

10.
Calls on the Commission to build on the experience gained in the first call for proposals as part of
the preparatory action in order to confirm the priority areas; believes greater attention should be paid to
research into public acceptance of security research and to handling of classified data in order to allow more
extensive exchange of such data between Member States;

11.
Shares the view that the ESRP should focus concretely but not exclusively on research activities and
technological areas with common added value so as to successfully anticipate, monitor and mitigate new
security challenges, such as those related to bio-terrorism, cyber-crime and any other form of modern
organised crime, to feasibly accomplish EU security missions and to minimise casualties;

12.
Insists that the establishment of a security research programme must be combined with comprehen-
sive analysis on a regular basis of security-related needs, in order to define the main technological and non-
technological instruments required to address the post-cold war fluctuating security landscape;

Advocates, in parallel to technology-driven research, a focus on the development of common modell-
13.
ing and threat intelligence capabilities, utilising the comparative advantages enjoyed by Member States in
every given instance;

Points out that in some cases proposed projects will contain dual elements of security and safety,
14.
which should therefore be strongly interlinked; underlines that to require research under the ESRP to deal
solely with security aspects would be counter-productive; proposes, therefore, a more integrated approach
and close coordination between the ESRP and other research activities within the Seventh EU Research
Framework Programme; recommends that the ESRP should make as clear as possible the distinction
between military and non-military research;

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15.
Considers that in the Commission's Communication there is an accent on technology research; calls
for a more balanced interaction between research in the natural sciences and technology and other sciences,
in particular political, social and human sciences;

16.
Considers that, in order to bridge the gap between research and real-life applications and to put
technological advances into service in real everyday use, special and greater attention should be paid to
operations research (OR), systems analysis (SA) and simulation;

Points out that, in order to tackle the substantial weaknesses and failures of the Member States in the
17.
fields of C4ISR systems (command, control, communications, computing,
intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance), greater progress in sensors systems, biotechnology, space and IT technology should be
sought;

Notes that aerospace-related applications and services in fields such as global positioning, worldwide

18.
observation and data collection can play a crucial role and should be underlined in the ESRP;

Calls on the Commission to build on the report ‘Research for a Secure Europe’ published by the
19.
Group of Personalities in the field of Security Research and on the final report of the Panel of Experts on
Space and Security, to extend to national satellite initiatives the kind of cooperation and collaboration in
security research that is necessary in order to maximise the capacity of civilian, military and dual-use sys-
tems and to meet the operational needs and requirements of the Union;

20.
Recognises that additional and more appropriate funding will be needed for a coherent and effective
security research programme; considers therefore that the funding level of EUR 1 000 million per year
proposed by the Group of Personalities Report could be reached by making use of funding from the Frame-
work Research Programme as well as from alternative sources;

Is of the view that in parallel to such funding level the Union should rationalise and make more

21.
efficient use of existing resources and eliminate current spending fragmentation;

Stresses however that increased investment in security research should not result in cuts in the civil

22.
research expenditure level;

23.
Calls on the Council and the Commission to study a system of balanced sharing of expenditure on
additional resources to be mobilised over and above those provided for in the Community research plan, in
order to ensure that the burden of the cost of research takes account of the economic weight of individual
Member States, based on a percentage of GNP, and to make commitments over a multi-annual period,
enabling reliable planning to take place.

Consultation and cooperation with stakeholders

24. Welcomes the suggested setting up of the European Security Research Advisory Board (ESRAB); con-
siders that, given the current lack of a policy formulation superstructure, the need exists for clearer
information on whether the Advisory Board will prove adequate and whether it will be ready to advise
effectively on the content of security research and to address operational problems relating to programmes;
underlines that the European Parliament should be represented in the ESRAB by five members, including the
Chairmen of the responsible Committees (the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Subcommittee on Security
and Defence, the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, the Committee on the Internal Market and
Consumer Protection and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs) or their represen-
tatives;

25.
Emphasises the added value of consultation and cooperation with experts from all relevant security
research stakeholder groups within the ESRAB framework; urges, however, a balanced involvement of indus-
trial representatives, research sponsors and public and private customers, scientific research bodies, public
institutions and representatives of civil liberties organisations;

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Requests that the activities and working methods of the ESRAB be clarified and monitored by the

26.
European Parliament;

Thursday 23 June 2005

Stresses that the setting up of the ESRAB should avoid any duplication in the security research

27.
structure;

Shares the view that, in order to overcome the high costs of duplication and fragmentation in the
28.
current security structures and programmes, encouragement should be given to increased and closer coop-
eration and coordination between European security research activities and efforts deployed by Member
States, other EU research activities and other international organisations having responsibilities associated
with global or regional security issues;

29.
Recommends that, within the framework of transatlantic relations, European security research should
entail the necessary efforts to avoid duplication and promote interoperability, while respecting the specific-
ities of the Union research landscape in this field; emphasises nevertheless that the Union's security research
budget should be used to develop EU corporate interests;

Institutional setting

30.
Insists that the European Parliament should be engaged in the development of European security
research activities not only by being regularly informed of progress but above all by being consulted in
advance on the implementation of the planned programme;

31.
Calls on the Commission to present to Parliament without delay the strategic lines of action, as well
as the advice received on the principles and mechanisms of implementation, the specific proposals concern-
ing participation, types of contracts and financing instruments for research activities within the ESRP, and
the necessary arrangements on intellectual property and technology transfer worked out together with the
ESRAB;

Invites the Commissioner responsible to report both to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the

32.
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy before implementation of the ESRP.

33.
Insists on the need for a more coherent political and institutional framework to promote cooperation
and efficient coordination between the ESRP, the new European Defence Agency (EDA) and the Union's
relevant policies relating to security and defence issues;

Considers that the details and parameters of the new EDA activities, especially regarding security

34.
research activities and its working relations with the ESRP, should be more precisely defined;

Calls on the Council and the Commission to ensure an efficient and effective relationship between

35.
the ESRP and the EDA, so as to avoid any kind of duplication in the field of research and technology;

Calls on the Commission to take account of the notion of the ‘public interest’ of security research,
36.
both for the European Union and the Member States, in order to avoid the risk of funding projects which
are not in line with political priorities or with certain public interest or privacy protection obligations, or
with the protection of human rights, civil liberties and private life; points out that transparency in the
allocation of contracts is of the utmost importance;

37.
Calls for optimisation of the potential synergies between defence and civil research, through inte-
gration of applications and technology transfer across both sectors; at the same time calls for a clearer
definition of the specific instruments that could help tackle the particular problems of security-related
research;

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Management of the European Security Research Programme

38.
Considers that, in order to guarantee effective management of the ESRP, experience acquired with
regard to funding mechanisms, methods and institutional settings during the preparatory action should play
a key role;

39.
Insists that the management of the ESRP should emphasise the added value of interoperability and
connectivity so as to improve cross-border cooperation, avoid unnecessary duplication and improve the
coherence of the Union's efforts;

40.
Vehemently advocates the development of strong common research and development infrastructures,
the promotion of collaboration between laboratories on a Union-wide scale and the development of human
resources in research and technology, making Europe a more attractive area for skilled researchers in this
field;

41.
Insists on the need to foster systematic collaboration and to explore the combined strengths of
industry and the research community, with a view to increasing the European innovation ratio to the
highest level in the world;

42.
Considers that the ESRP should be compatible with the establishment of an open, integrated and
competitive European defence market and the introduction of innovative mechanisms creating opportunities
for European industry to gain a comparative advantage in world markets; points out that transparency in
the allocation of contracts is of the utmost importance;

43.
Stresses the benefits that a more competitive European security industry, based on the existing capac-
ity of the defence industry and other specialised areas relating to new technology infrastructures, could
provide in strengthening the economic growth and overall competitiveness of the European economy, and
also stresses its positive results within society in the European Union;

Emphasises that EU initiatives on security research must not result in a weakening of the Union's

44.
principles and values on human rights, democratic rights, political freedoms, civil liberties and ethics;

*

*

*

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments

45.
and parliaments of the Member States and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

P6_TA(2005)0260

The information society

European Parliament resolution on the information society (2004/2204(INI))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the Commission Communication ‘Towards a Global Partnership in the Information

Society: Follow-up of the Geneva Summit (WSIS)’ (COM(2004)0111),

— having regard to the Council conclusions of 9 and 10 December 2004 (15472/04),

— having regard to the Commission Communication ‘Towards a Global Partnership in the Information

Society: Translating the Geneva principles into actions’ (COM(2004)0480),

— having regard the Council conclusions of 8 and 9 March 2004 (6606/04),

— having regard to the Declaration of Principles and the Plan of Action of the World Summit on the

Information Society (WSIS) adopted in Geneva on 12 December 2003,