Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee — Nanosciences and nanotechnologies: An action plan for Europe 2005-2009
Date: 2006-04-20
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: ESC opinion, EU research policy, microelectronics, nanotechnology, research and development

8.8.2006

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II

(Preparatory Acts)

EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE

426th plenary session, held on 20 and 21 April 2006

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Communication from the
Commission to the Council, the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee —
Nanosciences and nanotechnologies: An action plan for Europe 2005-2009

(2006/C 185/01)

On 7 June 2005 the European Commission decided to consult the European Economic and Social
Committee, under Article 262 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the abovementioned
proposal.

The Section for the Single Market, Production and Consumption, which was responsible for preparing the
Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 28 March 2006. The rapporteur was Mr Pezzini.

At its 426th plenary session, held on 20 and 21 April 2006 (meeting of 20 April), the European Economic
and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 117 votes with four abstentions.

1. Background

1.2.2 Micro — means one millionth of a whole. In this
case, it means one millionth of a metre.

In its previous opinion (1) on nanosciences and nano-
1.1
technologies, the EESC recognised that it would be helpful to
include a brief definition of the main terms used, reflecting the
fact that the opinion dealt with a partly new subject, whose
vocabulary was little known or at any rate little used. Those
definitions should therefore be restated at the beginning of the
present opinion.

1.1.1 Many other European programmes which started in
2000 are still in force in 2006, alongside the sixth framework
programme. Consequently, it is worth indicating in the notes
which main programmes have implications for N&N, especially
those programmes that are of particular importance to the new
Member States, who did not have the opportunity to follow
their inception and the debate on their objectives before 2004.

1.2 Definitions (2)

1.2.1
nano is used to mean a billionth of a metre.

Nano — means one billionth of a whole. In this case,

(1) OJ C 157 of 28.6.2005.
(2) Ibid.

Nanosciences — The nanosciences

1.2.3
a new
approach to traditional science (chemistry, physics, electronic
biology, etc.) and deal with the basic structure and behaviour
of materials at the level of atoms and molecules. These sciences
in fact study the potential of atoms in the various scientific
disciplines (3).

are

Nanotechnologies — These

1.2.4
enable
atoms and molecules to be manipulated so as to create new
surfaces and objects that, having a different make-up and
arrangement of atoms, have properties that can be used in day-
to-day life (4). These are technologies that deal with billionths
of a metre.

technologies

In addition to the above definition, it is worth-
1.2.5
while mentioning another, more significant one from a
scientific point of view. The term nanotechnology
describes a multidisciplinary approach to the creation of mate-
rials, mechanisms and systems, by means of the nanometric
scale control of materials. In accordance with this multidisci-
plinary approach, a broad knowledge-base in electronics,
physics and chemistry is required to establish a nanotechnology
qualification.

(3) Interview with Commissioner Busquin (summary in IP/04/820 of

29 June 2004).
(4) See footnote 2.

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1.2.6
Nanomechanics — The dimensions of an object
begin to be important in determining its properties when the
scale of its dimensions is of one or a few dozen nanometres
(objects made of a few dozen or a few thousand atoms). Within
this range of dimensions, an object composed of 100 iron
atoms has physical and chemical properties that are radically
different to one composed of 200 atoms, even if they are both
made of the same atoms. Similarly, the mechanical and electro-
magnetic properties of a solid made up of nanoparticles are
radically different to those of a traditional solid of the same
chemical composition and are affected by the properties of the
individual constituent units.

1.2.7 Microelectronics — This is a branch of electronics
that deals with the development of integrated circuits, built
within individual semiconductor regions, with minute dimen-
sions. Microelectronics can currently create individual compo-
nents with dimensions in the realms of 0.1 micrometre, or 100
nanometres (5).

1.2.8
Nanoelectronics — This is a science that studies and
produces circuits that are made using technologies and mate-
rials other than silicon and that work on a substantially
different set of principles (6).

1.2.9
Nanoelectronics is set to become a cornerstone of
nanotechnology, just as electronics today permeates all scien-
tific sectors and industrial processes (7).

Biomimetics (8) — This is the science that studies
1.2.10
the laws underpinning molecular structures existing in nature.
Knowledge of these laws could enable artificial nanomotors
to be created, based on the same principles as those existing in
nature (9).

1.3 Conclusions and recommendations

The Committee welcomes the proposals presented by
1.3.1
the Commission to implement by 2009 an action plan for
N&N in particular with regard to:

— the need to apply a sustainable, competitive, stable and

durable model of development;

— the perceptible acceleration at global level of investment in

nano-scale R&D and its applications;

— the need to analyse the risks and opportunities of the nano-
scale approach, and the urgent need for a widely shared
vision on the part both of the social partners' political and

(5) Micro and nanoelectronics centre at the Politecnico di Milano, Prof.

Alessandro Spinelli.

(6) Ibid.
(7) Investment

in nanoelectronics currently totals EUR 6 billion,
broken down as follows: 1/3 in nano and micro, 1/3 in diagnostics,
1/3 in materials (source: European Commission, Research DG).

(8) From the Greek mimesis, to imitate nature.
(9) For instance the independent movement of spermatozoa.

official decision-makers and, ultimately, of
the general
public and the media. This is in order to ensure the success
of N&N, on account of their usefulness for the general
public's health, safety and quality of life;

— the call for high-quality facilities and infrastructure,
grated European networks and shared databases;

inte-

— the need to provide qualified human resources in the scien-
tific, technical and economic fields, together with scientific
and industrial specialists capable of interacting with N&N;

— the advisability of creating a European focal point

for
promotion and coordination to serve as a stable, proactive
partner for connecting industry and science in particular,
both within the Union and internationally, to be supported
by an operational office.

1.3.1.1
Focal point staff must possess in-depth, proven
scientific and management skills, and be particularly well
attuned to the general context in which N&N development
takes place.

It

is also true of N&N that

1.3.1.2
‘Community-funded
research and development activities create considerable Euro-
pean added value. They open up potentials that plainly go
beyond the capacities of individual Member States and have
already facilitated European developments of global
impor-
tance’ (10). This illustrates the importance of a Community focal
point which can manage the sector, with clearly-allocated
responsibilities.

1.3.2
In the light of the N&N revolution, the Committee is
convinced that Europe's chances of being at the forefront in a
setting where new players are constantly — and aggressively —
entering the world market hinges upon its capacity for coordi-
nation and upon the creation of a securely-based European
critical mass of nanotechnology.

In the Committee's view, it is crucial that the European
1.3.3
Union should succeed in shaping an N&N action plan capable
of mobilising a collective drive for governance, and of uniting
the Community, national and regional levels in complying with
the subsidiarity principle. More specifically, the plan should
provide:

— a visible, transparent dialogue with civil society, ensuring
awareness based on objective evaluations of the risks and
opportunities presented by N&N;

(10) OJ C 65 of 17.3.2006.

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— constant vigilance to protect ethical and environmental
aspects, together with the health and safety of workers and
consumers;

adopted timetable, and should include the Member State
reports on the implementation of the national action plans.

— a single Community focal point, capable of ensuring close
the various policies and between the

coordination of
various areas of action;

1.3.7
The report should be submitted to the European
Economic and Social Committee as well as to the EP and the
Council.

— a single voice at international level to promote initiatives
in order to
for joint declarations and codes of conduct,
guarantee the responsible use of N&N, to ensure coopera-
tion in basic scientific research;

2. Reasons

— action to prevent

‘nano-divide’
(exclusion from developing N&N knowledge), together with
the less developed nations;

emergence of

the

a

— legal and regulatory certainty for research, application and

innovation efforts on the N&N market;

— a calendar and detailed timetable for the planned actions at
both Community and Member State level, with machinery
to check on implementation, and with clearly-allocated
responsibilities.

2.1
Nanosciences and nanotechnologies (N&N) represent a
rapidly-expanding field which holds great promise for the
conversion of basic research into successful
innovation. The
sector is highly significant
in terms of both boosting the
competitiveness of European industry as a whole, and creating
new products and services capable of enhancing the well-being
and quality of life of society and individual citizens.

2.2 Most analysts are convinced that by 2015 N&N-based
materials, products and services will be able to generate a
global market worth hundreds of billions of euros each year (11)
provided that (i) scientific excellence can be successfully trans-
lated into commercially viable products, processes and services,
and (ii) as emphasised by the Commission itself (12), ‘a repeat of
the European 'paradox' witnessed for other technologies’ can be
avoided.

The Committee calls for the Community action plan
1.3.4
to be accompanied by national action plans, providing coor-
dination and regular benchmarking of convergence and syner-
gies in various fields: infrastructure; training and education; risk
assessment; harmonisation of standards and patents; and, lastly,
dialogue with civil society, especially consumers.

In order to achieve this, there is,

2.3
opinion, a need to:

in the Committee's

— reinforce and coordinate R&D through greater investment,

The Committee believes

1.3.5
that European industry
should expand and intensify N&N research and application
efforts, increasing investment to levels at least equal to those of
its more advanced competitors. This could be achieved by
means of the following actions: development of European tech-
nology platforms; incentives for the protection and industrial
exploitation of N&N; encouragement for targeted training for
small-scale entrepreneurs; development of European N&N inno-
vation and application networks; support for multidisciplinary
qualification schemes for workers and technical specialists;
establishment of ‘business nanotechnologies’ and prototyping
and certification laboratories; and creation of a common frame-
work for technical standardisation and intellectual and indus-
trial property.

— create world-class R&D infrastructure,

— ensure careful risk assessment through the scientific and

application-related life cycle,

— uphold complete respect for ethical principles,

— promote a favourable, proactive climate for innovation in
all parts of the economic fabric and especially among small
and medium-sized enterprises,

— develop qualified human resources,

— adjust normative and patent systems,

— promote partnership between public and private organisa-

tions.

The two-yearly monitoring report on the implementa-
1.3.6
tion of the Community action plan and its consistency with
other EU policies should, in the Committee's view, be accompa-
nied by an annual scoreboard detailing compliance with the

(11) C.f. Nanotechnologies and nanosciences, knowledge-based multifunctional
materials & new production processes and devices, submitted to the
Euronanoforum, Edinburgh, September 2005.
(12) COM(2005) 243 final and COM(2005) 24 final.

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The Committee issued an earlier opinion on this

2.4
subject (13), which included the following recommendations:

product commercialisation, technology transfer and sharing
of best practice;

— the development of

joint Community/national efforts in
RTD and scientific and technological training with close
interaction between industry and the academic world; a
special focus on industrial and multisectoral applications;
greater coordination of policies, structures and stakeholder
networks; safeguarding of ethical, environmental, health
and safety interests; and appropriate technical standardisa-
tion;

— a strong link between N&N and society, to ensure that
research results make a positive contribution to economic
competitiveness, human health, the environment, safety and
the quality of life;

— provision of appropriate resources under the new financial
in the
perspectives
Seventh framework programme for R&D (FP7), and reinfor-
cement of European technology platforms;

for 2007-2013 and in particular

— the

launch of

a high-level Community action plan
containing a clearly defined road map and timetable and an
approach that ties in with that of the Member States, in
order to secure consensus among all civil society players on
a shared vision;

— the establishment of high-level European infrastructure for
research and technology transfer geared to innovation and
the markets;

— optimisation of intellectual property arrangements and the
establishment of a European-level Nano-IPR Helpdesk, to
meet
the needs of researchers, companies and research
centres and, most importantly, of civil society;

— stepping up international cooperation on the ethical, risk,

safety, standards, patents and metrological aspects;

— actions

designed

industrial
processes and increase awareness of their use, with the
establishment of a European information clearing-house,

develop N&N-related

to

(13) (OJ C 157 of 28.6.2005).

— an ongoing dialogue with the media and public opinion,
based on dissemination of scientific knowledge, to provide
the public with an assurance that the potential dangers for
health or the environment are being monitored, and also to
forestall misunderstandings concerning nanotechnological
developments.

2.5 N&N in the new Member States

2.5.1
Over the last five years, the European Commission has
used Community resources to support some 30 centres of
excellence in connection with the various thematic priorities
under
the Community's Framework Research Programme:
many of these centres involved in developing N&N (14) are
linked to universities, research bodies and enterprises in the
new Member States.

2.5.2
The Committee considers it important for the Euro-
pean Joint Research Centre to continue providing support and
encouragement for centres of excellence in the new Member
States and the applicant countries, particularly in the N&N
sector,
in their work
programmes.

including this

specifically

aspect

2.5.3
In the Committee's view, the Commission should also
support the growth of European N&N innovation, application
and prototyping networks, especially for small businesses,
which represent the bulk of Europe's industrial fabric.

2.5.4 More specifically, specific service packages should be
provided to help entrepreneurs to identify opportunities and
links in N&N applications, and multiply successful initiatives
such as Gate2Growth (15) and Minanet (16); new sources and
methods of risk funding should therefore be identified, together
with guarantee systems to supplement existing ones.

The Committee also believes that

2.5.5
the PHANTOMS
Community initiative — a network of excellence on nano-
technologies set up under the IST/FET Community programme
— for Information Society Technologies merits further develop-
ment and a higher profile.

(14) Leading centres of excellence include the DESMOL Centre of Mole-
cular Studies, the High Pressure Research Centre and the CELDIS
centre of the Polish Academy of Science's Institute of Physics; the
KFKI-Condensed Matter Research Centre and the Research Institute
for Solid State Physics and Optics of the Hungarian Academy of
Sciences; and the Centre for Advanced Material Research and Tech-
nology (CAMART) of the University of Latvia's Institute of Solid
State Physics.

(15) The Gate2Growth Community initiative provides a package of
services and networks to help make access to investment for new
innovative businesses faster and cheaper, through pan-European
thematic networks of
such as
I-TecNet.

investors and intermediaries,

(16) Minanet is an accessible on-line database on European research
projects in the field of microsystems and nanotechnologies.
It
includes N&N projects in the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia,
Hungary, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia, Cyprus and Romania.

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2.5.6
Furthermore, the EESC considers that, in the light of
the need to give greater impetus to research and innovation in
the new Member States and applicant states, greater synergies
should be built up with the EUREKA and COST initiatives,
under which many of these countries are conducting N&N
activities.

2.6 The international picture

2.6.1 Overall spending at global
level by governments,
businesses and the financial world on research and develop-
ment in the N&N sector was estimated to stand, in January
2005, at some EUR 7 billion per annum (17) (more than half
from public funds), of which approximately 35 % was spent in
North America, 35 % in Asia, 28 % in Europe and 2 % in the
rest of the world.

2.6.1.1
Although the differences in public investment at the
end of the 1990s were, in per capita terms, very small (roughly
EUR 1 in the US and Japan, in the EU half this amount), by
2005 per capita spending in the US stood at EUR 5, in Japan at
EUR 6.5 and in the EU at EUR 3.5. Forecasts to 2011 suggest a
level of more than EUR 9 in the US and Japan, and EUR 6.5 in
the EU (18).

2.6.2
Spending by industry at world level amounts to
more than EUR 3 billion per annum, of which 46 % is carried
out by US companies, 36 % by Asian companies, 17 % by
European companies and less than 1 % by businesses from the
rest of the world. Some 1 500 companies have declared a
strong commitment to N&N research and development: of
these, 80 % are represented by start-ups, of which more than
half are North American. Media coverage of nanotechnology
affairs has risen from about 7 000 articles a year to the current
12 000 (19).

Over the five years between the end of 2000 and the
2.6.3
present,
the United States has
the federal government of
invested more than US $ 4 billion in nanotechnologies. For
2006 alone, the Bush administration has requested US $ 1
billion for N&N research to be allocated to the eleven federal
research agencies. As pointed out in the 2005 report on The
National Nanotechnology Initiative at Five Years, ‘the United States
is the acknowledged leader in nanotechnology R&D’ at world
of
level, with
US $ 3 billion, accounting for approximately one third of
world spending.

annual public

and private

investment

‘appropriate and wise’, likely to generate ‘substantial economic
payoffs over the long term’.

2.6.4
Annual spending in Japan in 2003 stood at about
EUR 630 million, with 73 % provided by the Ministry of
Education and 21 % by the Ministry for the Economy, Trade
and Industry. Research is focused primarily on nanomaterials.
In terms of nanotechnology venture capital, Mitsui has decided
to invest almost EUR 700 million over the next four years,
while the Critical Technology Fund will channel some EUR 30
billion to N&N research (20).

2.6.5
Still in Asia, Taiwan too plans to invest more than
EUR 600 million between now and 2008, with 800 companies
involved with N&N; it is expected that production will rise to
EUR 7.5 billion in 2006, with a rise in the number of busi-
nesses in the sector to 1 500 and new product development of
up to EUR 25 billion in 2012, particularly in the various
nanoelectronics sectors.

2.6.5.1
that intellectual and industrial property problems be resolved.

The prerequisite for this expansion to take place is

South Korea is one of

the first countries whose
2.6.6
companies have successfully marketed N&N based products (21).
The country, which has a potential domestic nanotechnologies
market estimated to be worth some EUR 2 billion, has
launched a Next Generation Core Development Program on
N&N, with a budget of EUR 168 million. Its priorities include
nanomaterials, nanocomposites and bionanotechnologies.

2.6.7 More than 30 N&N companies have been set up in
recent years in Australia, and their numbers are continuing to
grow by 50 % a year. Public and private spending on N&N
research amounts to nearly EUR 60 million a year, focusing
mainly on new materials, bionanotechnology and medical and
therapeutic applications.

The US also comes first in the number of business
2.6.3.1
start-ups, publications and patents. At federal
it is felt
that spending on new knowledge and infrastructure is both

level,

(17) Lux Research and Technology Review on Nanotechnology 2005.
(18) C.f. http://cordis.europa.eu.int/nanotechnology; European Commis-

sion, Research DG, Unit G4 (8.12.2005).

According to a report recently published in Beijing on
2.6.8
nanotechnology development
in China in the 2005-2010
period, with forecasts up to 2015 (22), the country is one of the
world's leaders in terms of new N&N business registrations,

(20) In terms of private N&N investment, some 60 Japanese companies
spend approximately EUR 170 million annually on nanotechnology
R&D, an increase of 20 % since 2003.

(21) Samsung launched its Flash Memory Chips, containing 90 nano-

metric components, as far back as 2002.

(19) Lux Research and Technology Review on Nanotechnology 2005.

(22) Beijing Report 2005 on Nanotech Development to 2010-2015.

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publications and patents, with an internal market for N&N
products and systems estimated at more than EUR 4.5 billion,
and set to grow to more than EUR 27 billion by 2010, and
more than EUR 120 billion by 2015 (23).

always however tied in with a robust European coordina-
tion process conducted by the Commission, and with a
stronger commitment on the part of industry;

2.6.9
The EESC believes that the international picture serves
to highlight the importance of ensuring a proactive climate
favourable to research and innovation in all EU countries, in
order to be able to share successfully in research and develop-
ment investment in the sector.

— including a focal point for European coordination into FP7,
to serve as a stable, proactive partner both within the
Union and for the purposes of international cooperation
and dialogue, with a European ‘Nano-Janus’ (28) centre
equipped with sufficient resources;

3. Comments

The Committee has always argued that stronger efforts
3.1
to achieve an increase in absolute and relative terms of R&D
investment in Europe are necessary as part of the effort to
achieve the 3 % Barcelona objective. In the light of interna-
tional trends, it is convinced that such an effort is necessary
first and foremost in the N&N sector.

The Committee believes that

3.1.1
the effort would be
weakened if not made as part of a robust process of European-
level coordination of national and regional N&N research
programmes, partly via the ERA-NET and ERA-NET PLUS (24)
schemes. It should be backed by actions to raise awareness and
support for research centres, industries and universities through
the COST (25), ESF (26) and EUREKA (27) programmes, and with
EIB loans.

3.1.2
The Committee is of the view that such European
coordination and cooperation should also cover Member
State actions designed to develop interdisciplinary infrastruc-
tures and centres of N&N skills and excellence, which should
also aim to link up with a pan-European network to multiply
synergies and prevent wasteful duplication.

3.2 Community level

3.2.1
The Committee is convinced that if the Community
action plan is to be effective and credible, it should contain a
calendar and detailed timetable, which would facilitate more
stringent checks on the progress achieved in the following
spheres:

— increasing investment

innovation and
training, at Community, Member State and regional level,

in N&N research,

(23) According to the above report, China's share of the world market
will be more than 6 % in 2010 and 16 % in 2015. The race to
bring out finished products will depend heavily upon convergence
in nanobiotechnological and nanoscientific applications, and on the
practical research of the three major national research centres and
more than 20 nanotechnology institutes.

(24) European Research Area: cooperation and coordination of national
or regional research activities. The ERA-NET programme, with a
budget of EUR 148 million, provided for calls for proposals every
six months, up to 2005, targeting projects in which legal entities of
at least three Member States were involved. ERA-NET Plus has been
introduced for the coming years, building upon its predecessor.
(25) COST: European Co-Operation in the field of Scientific and Tech-

nical research.

(26) ESF: European Science Foundation.
(27) EUREKA: European initiative for the development of market tech-

nologies.

— providing qualified human resources with multidisciplinary
profiles in the scientific, technical and economic fields, and
boosting the presence of scientific and industrial specialists
aware of the N&N approach;

through a

— ensuring the acceptability and success of nanosciences and
nanotechnologies
transparent
dialogue with civil society, not only for the sake of their
contribution to European competitiveness, but also of their
usefulness in terms of citizens' health, safety and quality of
life;

visible

and

— introducing toxicological and ecotoxicological risk assess-
ment mechanisms and the appropriate training mechanisms
to cover all phases from the drawing board to implementa-
tion;

— submitting research and public funding proposals to an
ethical monitoring system, as already envisaged for the
framework programme, to identify all ethical issues which
may arise in connection with N&N;

— preserving the proper balance between the need, on the
one hand, for social development, dissemination for scien-
tific and practical purposes, and health protection and, on
the other, the demands of intellectual and industrial prop-
erty.

The Committee

strongly advocates

substantial
3.2.2
innovation and
increase in investment
training, at Community, Member State and regional
in
parallel and in close coordination with the Member State and
regional levels.

in N&N research,

level,

a

3.2.2.1
In this connection, the Committee would emphasise
that, in contrast to the situation in other research sectors, the
amount of Community funding channelled to N&N is equal to
that from the Member States (where, for general research, Com-
munity resources account
for 4-5 % of overall European
research expenditure, while Member State resources represent
87 %).

(28) Cf. the National Nanotechnology Office set up in the US in 2003

under the Nanotechnology Development Act.

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3.2.3
The Committee considers that no less than 10 % of
the resources allocated to the specific ‘Cooperation’ programme
under FP7 2007-2013 should be earmarked for the N&N
thematic priority.

3.2.3.1 Within the ‘Capacities’ programme, due place should
be accorded to SMEs for N&N research and innovation, particu-
larly for ‘nanotechnology districts’, infrastructure for excellence
and N&N foresight activities.

— CEN-STAR (29) tenders for pre-legislative and co-normative

technical research projects;

— pilot schemes to demonstrate the industrial applications of

N&N.

3.2.8
The Commission should immediately strengthen the
ethical monitoring system, to ensure that all ethical issues are
identified which may arise in connection with N&N, especially
in the fields of medicine, the agri-food industry and cosmetics.

3.2.3.2
The proper place should be given to training and
mobility for N&N researchers, within the specific ‘People’
programme, and the same should apply to the work of the
Joint Research Centre with regard to safety and metronomy, as
well as to prospective technological studies.

3.3 Member State level

For

its part,

3.2.4
the Competitiveness and Innovation
Framework Programme should, from 2007 onwards, be able to
devote — even with the limited resources available to it —
some of its efforts to fostering a culture of entrepreneurship
geared to the organisational applications of N&N research.

3.2.5
The Committee strongly supports the establishment of
European technology platforms, modelled on those already in
place for nanoelectronics and nanomedicine; these platforms
are in fact ideal instruments for mobilising all the public and
private players across the different sectors (science, training,
technology, industry, finance) in Community, national/regional
or joint projects and initiatives, underpinned by a shared and
proactive forward-looking vision.

The Committee considers investment

3.2.6
in advanced
education and training to be crucial. The new post-2006 Com-
munity programmes should make specific provision for areas
of action providing multidisciplinary support for N&N.

3.2.7
The Commission should facilitate industrial exploita-
tion by introducing the following by 2007, under the FP7 N&N
work programme:

— a Nano-IPR Helpdesk, as proposed by the EESC in its

previous opinion on N&N;

— a European clearing house for exchange of best practices
and monitoring of patents and new applications on the
world market;

3.3.1
The Committee emphasises how important it is for
Community action plans to be matched by national action
plans, which are to be submitted to the European Parliament,
the Council and the Commission by the end of the first half of
2006. The purpose is to ensure coherence and synergies in the
fields of
training and education, as well as
harmonisation of standards and patents, risk assessment and,
lastly, dialogue with civil society, consumers and the media.

infrastructure,

The Committee believes

3.3.2
the Member States
should allocate a greater proportion of their available public
and private investment to N&N, and should submit regular
reports to the EP and the Council on the progress made in
investment and in implementing national plans.

that

3.3.3
Community report, with specific reference to:

These reports should be included in the two-year

— the creation of a regulatory and legislative environment
which is favourable to the new cycle of industrial applica-
tions of N&N to new business concepts, new qualifications
and training requirements for entrepreneurs, workers and
technical specialists, standards, product certification, ethical
issues and transparency, particularly with regard to medical
and scientific training, accessibility and equal opportunities;

— incentives for innovative N&N applications at local and
regional level, with the development of networks of proto-
typing, certification and risk assessment laboratories which
are accessible to all businesses, official bodies, universities
and research centres; to this end, dedicated start-up and
venture capital measures of a financial nature should be
implemented, especially in cohesion regions, and informa-
tion centres with a public profile should be set up to
explain the risks and opportunities generated by N&N;

— a Digital Library, as proposed in the communication under

discussion;

(29) CEN: European Committee for Standardisation. STAR: working

group on standardisation and research.

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— the introduction of initiatives to prevent a ‘nano-divide’,
particularly in structural and cohesion fund intervention
areas and in island and outlying regions, accompanied by
measures to prevent less developed third countries being
excluded from N&N development.

— fostering user-friendly synergies with European initiatives
— such as EUREKA — and international initiatives — such
as Human Frontiers — in the N&N field.

The Committee considers that

the Member States
3.3.4
should act to preserve a proper balance between two impera-
tives: on the one hand, the need for cooperation and dissemina-
tion for scientific and practical purposes, geared to health and
environmental protection and, on the other, the need to safe-
guard the confidentiality of
inventions and intellectual and
industrial property.

In the Committee's view,

3.3.5
this again highlights the
disadvantages of the lack of a Community patent and a single
Community patent law. This concerns not only the question as
in terms of
to what can be patented in the Member States,
inventions in bionanotechnology, but also simple access for
stakeholders to information about new inventions and patents.

3.4 International level

3.4.1
The Committee fully supports the guidelines set out in
the action plan for building up structured cooperation and
dialogue at
It would add the following
suggestions:

international

level.

3.5 Company, labour and civil society level

3.5.1
The Committee believes that companies, especially
SMEs, can derive enormous benefit from N&N research work
and its direct dissemination to technology transfer, especially
by taking on board energy efficiency and environmental tech-
applied to
nologies,
processes, products and services, and the converging nano-,
bio-, and infotechnologies.

IT nanotechnologies, new materials

3.5.2
The Committee considers that European industry
should expand and intensify N&N research and application
efforts, increasing investment to levels at least equal to those of
its more advanced competitors: this effort should be given
strong backing by the creation of a favourable regulatory and
legislative environment at both Community and national/
regional level.

3.5.3
The Committee is convinced that this approach, which
advocates strong business involvement, is vital to N&N research
and development and application, provided that arrangements
are made for support actions at European, national/regional
and, most of all, the joint level, aimed at:

— holding regular international forums under EU auspices to
broaden opportunities for dialogue, exchange and commu-
nication, with a view to strengthening the international
scientific, industrial and academic community;

— transparent, simple and clear information on nanotech-
nology scouting of research results, applicable in a perma-
nent and safe manner for workers, technical specialists,
consumers, the environment and health; these results must
be guaranteed by certification which is fully acceptable to
both society and the market;

— developing European leadership skills in order to promote
joint declarations and codes of conduct

initiatives for
regarding the responsible development and use of N&N;

— creating an electronic archive within the EU of worldwide
scientific and technical publications on N&N by 2008;

— including capacity-building actions for partners in devel-
oping countries, training actions for scientific personnel
and actions to prepare local skills to receive N&N in Euro-
the
pean development
purpose of these actions being to prevent the emergence of
an ‘N&N divide’ (exclusion from developing N&N knowl-
edge);

cooperation policy guidelines:

— implementing training initiatives focusing on the difficulties
of businesses, especially small ones, through the assimila-
tion and informed use of N&N, complying with the require-
ments of
the new production processes which apply
them (30);

— supporting multidisciplinary training and qualification
schemes for technical and scientific personnel, on the new
business concept and organisation applying new nanotech-
nological production processes and related services, and on
the necessary precautions to counter
toxicological and
ecotoxicological risk;

(30) The EESC welcomes the paper and CD format publications of the
DG responsible for innovation, and their educational content,
which is addressed to an interested, but so far uninformed, public.

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— sounding out, in a clear and predefined way, the opportu-
nities and limits of industrial and intellectual property to
guarantee a proper balance between cooperation and
competition; production confidentiality and the dissemina-
tion of N&N-related progress, publication and free move-
ment of new knowledge within the European and interna-
tional scientific community, and protection of intellectual
property rights;

— facilitating access by businesses, especially small ones or
those located in island and outlying regions, to JCR (31)
institutes, to prototyping, certification, measurement and
testing laboratories and infrastructures. Access to national
standards bodies, which are
and European technical
authorised to draw up internationally recognised and
accepted standards will also be important;

— under the EIB, EIF, CIP (32) and the Community's Structural
Funds, strengthening access for businesses, especially SMEs,
to financial support measures, start-up and venture capital,
and initiatives to promote spin-off from academic research,
with a view to creating new enterprises and jobs in the
N&N sector and the setting up of acquisition, production
and distribution networks for N+N services;

— establishing closer

links between universities,

research
centres and businesses, especially SMEs, by establishing
joint management skills centres for the various application
sectors, taking on nanotech experts in businesses, and orga-
nising training courses under
the new Marie Curie
Programme actions.

3.5.4.1
The Committee would also highlight, in this respect,
the importance of steps to ensure safe production environ-
ments and processes, appropriate training for the relevant
human resources, particularly in the medical diagnostics and
therapeutics sectors, with a special focus on prevention and ex-
ante risk prevention and assessment aspects. This could be
achieved with the help of technical conduct manuals, certified
at European level.

3.5.4.2
The impact on workers of the new working patterns
needed to apply N&N in economic life, and of the training and
health and safety requirements, must be carefully evaluated and
researched by the European Foundation for the Improvement
of Living and Working Conditions in Dublin.

3.5.5
The European N&N dialogue with all stakeholders
should be put on an official footing by 2007, by establishing a
consultative body or forum which should have the necessary
visibility and transparency to act as a qualified and recognised
partner for the media and civil society.

The

successful

awareness-raising pilot

3.5.6
initiatives
should be consolidated by 2007. They should be made visible
as of now by linking them to the Europa web portal, and publi-
cised among the European institutions, particularly the EP and
the Council. They should also be given an international dimen-
sion with the establishment, in 2008 of the ‘Interdisciplinary
N&N Prize’, to be awarded annually on the occasion of ‘Euro-
pean N&N week’.

3.5.4
The Committee emphasises that, especially in the field
of N&N, workers and technical and scientific specialists repre-
sent — and must continue to represent — the greatest asset of
socially responsible businesses.

3.5.7
In 2006 the Commission should introduce certified
methodologies to identify risks in the application and/or use of
N&N and, in the first half of 2008, propose European guide-
lines in this area.

Brussels, 20 April 2006

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Anne-Marie SIGMUND

(31) JCR: Joint Research Centre.
(32) CIP: Competition and Innovation Framework Programme (c.f. EESC

opinion INT/270, rapporteurs: Mr Welschke and Ms Fusco.