CELEX: 51985DC0350
Language: en
Date: 1985-06-25 00:00:00
Title: MEMORANDUM TOWARDS A EUROPEAN TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY

ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
DE LA COMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (85) 350
Vol. 1985/0141
 ---pagebreak--- Disclaimer
Conformément au règlement (CEE, Euratom) n° 354/83 du Conseil du 1er février 1983
concernant l'ouverture au public des archives historiques de la Communauté économique
européenne et de la Communauté européenne de l'énergie atomique (JO L 43 du 15.2.1983,
p. 1), tel que modifié par le règlement (CE, Euratom) n° 1700/2003 du 22 septembre 2003
(JO L 243 du 27.9.2003, p. 1), ce dossier est ouvert au public. Le cas échéant, les documents
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In accordance with Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 of 1 February 1983
concerning the opening to the public of the historical archives of the European Economic
Community and the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ L 43, 15.2.1983, p. 1), as
amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1700/2003 of 22 September 2003 (OJ L 243,
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file have been declassified in conformity with Article 5 of the aforementioned regulation.
In Übereinstimmung mit der Verordnung (EWG, Euratom) Nr. 354/83 des Rates vom 1.
Februar 1983 über die Freigabe der historischen Archive der Europäischen
Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft und der Europäischen Atomgemeinschaft (ABI. L 43 vom 15.2.1983,
S. 1), geändert durch die Verordnung (EG, Euratom) Nr. 1700/2003 vom 22. September 2003
(ABI. L 243 vom 27.9.2003, S. 1), ist diese Datei der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich. Soweit
erforderlich, wurden die Verschlusssachen in dieser Datei in Übereinstimmung mit Artikel 5
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 ---pagebreak--- COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                          COM(85) 350 final
                                          Brussels, 25 June 1985
                          MEMORANDUM
           TOWARDS A EUROPEAN TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY
                                          .....
                                          ~-? JIJiN 19Bs
                                             ~~
                                                ~ ..
 ---pagebreak--- COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                COM(85) 350 final
                                                Brussels,25 June 1985
                                MEMORANDUM
                 TOWARDS A EUROPEAN TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY
   COM(85) 350 final
 ---pagebreak---                                 CONTENTS
I.    THE CHALLENGE FACING EUROPE
II.   THE EUROPEAN TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY
      1.  Legal and political bases
      2.  Objectives
      3.  Types of technological research and development (TRD)
          projects and programmes
      4.  Horizontal back-up tasks
      5.  Methods of cooperation and financing arrangements
      6.  Criteria and methods for selecting priority TRD programmes
ANNEX  -
 ---pagebreak---                 TOWARDS A EUROPEAN TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY
I. THE CHALLENGE   FACING EUROPE
   Technological progress plays a central role in our societies because
   of its impact on economic growth and job creation, social and cultural
   progress, environment and security.     It is increasingly becoming a
   strategic factor - one which     (as the· Commission stressed in its
   communication to the Brussels meeting of the European Council in
   March 1985) the Community must turn to account in order to regain its
   competitiveness and lay the foundations for more vigorous and more
   stable growth and to ensure greater economic convergence by
   increasing the innovative capacity of all the Member States.
   The Community has an internal market on a scale similar~:
   to those of Japan and the United States, but it has to face the
   competition of those countries with a market segmented by many
   barriers and with no common technological strategy: with a few
   notable exceptions, R&D policies and resources are applied by
   the Member States without any coordination.
   The consequences are beginning to show. Since 1972 the annual growth
   rate in real terms of the production of high technology goods in
   Europe has not exceeded 5% while the rate in the United States is 7,6%
   and in Japan 14%. 1
   Europe's mediocre industrial performance has eroded its trade surplus
   in high-technology products. Over a 20-year period the export
    cover    of   high technology imports into the Community fell from
   190% to 110% (1983).
   Europe launched the first two industrial revolutions: is it now
   missing out on the third? Can Europe be satisfied with its
   continuing domination      in     medium-techriology products when the
   newly industrializing countries of Asia and Latin America are ready
   to take over? Must Europe meekly accept the brain drain to the
   United States and Let Japan take over its market shares?
   Can Europe maintain its standard of Living, reverse the unemployment
   trend and ensure that it can stand on its own feet without responding
   to the technological challenges of the outside world?
    For a response to these challenges, Europe has a potentially powerful
    armoury:
   1
       From 1973 to 1983 the Community's specialization index for
       trade in high technology products fell from 1,01 COECD = 1) to
       0,82 while that of the United States remained constant ~t 1,26
       and that of Japan went up from 0,7 to 1,26.
 ---pagebreak---                                 - 2 -
 - For Europe's industry, a continent-wide market rid of the barriers
    now dividing· it into unviable segments;
 - National R&D efforts which have maintained the high Level of
    European science but whose dispersal deprives the Community of
    the synergetic effects and the economies of scale that would
    stem from a collective effort targeted on certain jointly defined
    strategic priorities;
 - The cooperation among European firms which has positive results
    when it can flourish under the stimulus given by such research
   programmes as ESPRIT, industrial programmes Like Airbus and
   strategic programmes Like the Space Agency.
 The Community must therefore as a    matter of urgency summon up its
 considerable resources to reverse    a trend whose present consequences
are Lost        market shares, Less   job creation, increased technological
dependence and the emigration of      its finest research workers.
 The Commission considers that Europe will be able to harness
 the new technologies for a common purpose only if a
genuine European Technology Community is established which:
- exploits    the   Community dimension to the utmost extent possible;
- promotes the greatest possible synergetic ~ffects from the
    interactions of national and Community efforts.
 Exploiting the Community dimension
The Community dimension offers the following advantages:
   It will guarantee that the demand for products and services supplied
   by European projects can expand dynamically as the result of the
   opening up of public contracts and the adoption of international
   standards preventing the walling-off of markets and restriction
   of competition.
   There is therefore a close Link between the Commission's proposals
   for (a) completing the continent-wide market and (b) creating a
   European Technology Community.
- The-Community will ensure that the technology effort is closely
   tied in with common policies and in particular with trade and
   competition policies;
- Through . cooperation and exchanges, it will increase the
   potential of purely national programmes and reduce wastage arising
   from unnecessary duplication.
 ---pagebreak---                                 - 3 -
   It will give more scope to the universities, individual research
   workers and specialised SMEs (which are sometimes overlooked in
   strictly intergovernmental schemes of cooperation owing to the
   complexity of industrial groupings and institutional structures).
- Lastly, the Community's R&D instruments are immediately
   available and can be adapted to the needs of different projects
   in view of the urgency of the action required. Some current
   programmes (ESPRIT, BRITE and the definition phase of RACE)
   can provide a framework for projects that fall naturally within
   their general field such as information technologies, broadband
   networks and new materials.
Synergetic effects of Community/Member Stat~s interattions
The aim is to combine on the basis of clearly defined objectives:
- the use of Community programmes proper;
- the·development of strictly national programmes;
- the pooling of national programmes by some States, including non-
   Community countries, possibly with an additional Community
   contribution;
- identifying the scope for the synergetic cross-fertilizing of
    hatiorial and Community programmes~
Just as it is neither possible nornecessary to bring everything
under the Community umbrella, so it would be just as inappropriate
to confine the Community's efforts to the portion of public R&D
expenditure which it finances from its own resources, even though
 that. portion_ is tobe substantially expanded. Bridges must be built
between programmes at different Levels - national, intergovernmental
and Community - that contribute to common scientific and technological
objectives in order to integrate them into a truly Community scientific
and technological strategy.
                                   *
                              *        *
 Some will argue, against the advantages of the Community dimension,
 that the Community's decision making and management procedures are
 complicated and cumbersome. But in fact the aim must be to exploit
 all the possibilities offered by the Treaties and where necessary
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 4 -
     adapt their prov,s,ons in order to 9uarantee that account is taken both
     of the interests of all parties and of the need for prompt decisions,
     flexible and decentralised management and appropriate financing
     arrangements.
     That is the Commission's aim in this proposal, in the conviction that
     the Community's institutional system - which needs to be made more
     effective and more democratic - remains, in the Last resort, the
    only guarantee for the European identity and common interests againstthe
     weight 6f national sovereigntie~ Legitimately conce~ned to put
     national interests first.
II.  THE EUROPEAN TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY
     1.   Legal and political bases
     The European Economic Community can offer the necessary basis for
     Launching a true European Technology Community, so designed as to
    allow Member States to reserve or restrict their participation to
    certain programmes only.
     That having been said, the European Technology Community could be
    brought into being through a variety of institutional arrangements,
    which are set out in a separate paper; they are all founded on
    a political commitment, of contractual force,by Member States to give
     the ~ew.~Coi~µnity the powers and resources to take action in its
    :field~
    2.    Objectives
    The fundamental objective is to strengthen the technological bases
    of European industry and to develop its international competitiveness.
    To serve this objective, the Technology Community must have the
     remit and the resources to carry out certain actions in the interests
    of the Community: to conduct technology research and development
    programmes with the participation, which may vary from one programme
    to another, of the Member States,          firms and research centres ,
                                                             .
    and to carry out horizontal or back up measures in support of the
      TRD programmes.
    It is not proposed at this stage to put forward a definitive
      plan, but the main type,s of measure, whether or not they are -to be
      conducted at the Community's initiative, can be set out as follows.
 ---pagebreak---                                 - 5 -
3.  Types of technolo~ical research and development (TRD) projects
    and programmes
3.1  Research on generic technologies
The main object of this type of project is to induce industrial
firms to join forces and cooperate with university research centres
and public authorities for mastery up to the development stage
of technologies whose specific applications will spread throughout
the industrial fabric, modernizing processes or giving rise to
new products. These include the technologies of composite materials,
micro-electronics and Optronics and those in the huge field of
biotechnologies (see Annex).
By reason of their very purpose, these projects are generally
restricted to the pre-competitive stage, but, over and above the
results expected from scie~tific and technical research, they
will increasingly draw together European firms, research centres
and public authorities into the networks that will be the foundation
for industrial cooperation proper in production and marketing
structures.
3.2  Development and exploitation of joint facilities for basic
     research purposes
Europe, both Community and non-Community, has already started
on the path of joint exploitation of Large-scale equipment and
specialized Laboratories which it would be absurd to duplicate.
It was the motive for establishing CERN in Geneva and the JET
project at Culham. Other projects of this type are planned in
the same spirit, such as the Synchrotron, and the Oceanography
Centre. The human and matetial capital which the Member States
have already pooled in the Joint Research Centre (JRC) can be
harnessed in a public service mission which could take the form
of a programme on the safety of the environment in the broad sense
and the definition of reference standards.
3.3  Strategic programmes
These are technology-intensive programmes or major talent- and
resource-mobilizing projects whose specific purpose could be a
field in the general interest (space exploration, for example)
or the supply of advanced public services (telecommunications).
In this type of programme the R&D phase is only preparatory to
the public investment and exploitation phases.
 ---pagebreak---                                     - 6 -
Beyond their specific purpose, the strategic programmes would seek
to open up a "critical mass" of public contracts in strategic sectors
in order to combine demand-pull with the technological-push generated
by research programmes.
The programme of the European Space Agency is the model here. Its
successes have restored Europe's confidence in its technological
and industrial capacities and shows what can be done when the States
of Europe aim at a strategic target and agree to pool the bulk of
the national resources they are devoting to it.
Another model could be, in telecommunications, the RACE programme
proposed by the Commission.
The IRIS programme proposed by the Italian Presidency for the development
of the European market in the "social products" of informatics could
also fall into       this category.
4.   Horizontal back-up tasks
4.1   International cooperation
The European Technology Community should open negotiations with
non-Community countries and international institutions on:
-   the ways and means whereby it could take part in their research
    programmes and they could be associated with its own TRD programme;
    international standards for exchanges of technology (intellectual
    property, competition rules, access to information, restrictions
    on technology transfers and so on).
4.2   Coordination of national and Community TRD policies
Besides its own programmes, the European Technology Community would
also be required to promote the coordination of national and Community
policies, to propose the means of strengthening their complementary
aspects; it would seek to instigate concerted actions which it would
encourage by bearing coordination costs and possibly by meeting a
minority share of project costs.
4.3    Dissemination of knowledge and exploitation of the results
      of Community programmes
Community action must not be Limited to developing research; it must
also help to exploit results which Lend themselves to commercial
applications. In some cases it may be useful for the Community to
 ---pagebreak---                                   - 7 -
have the means to bear certain pre-development costs, at Least in
part, in particular in the case of innovative SMEs.
4.4   Stimulation of the Community's science and technology potential
This type of horizontal task must be a permanent function of a European
Technology Community. The aims and methods can be defined on
the basis of the Lessons taught by the current experimental programme
under the four-year programme.
In this context it might be possible to act upon the suggestions
of the Economic and Social Committee 2 for setting up in the Community
a network of centres of excellence recognized and supported by
the Community. These centres would agree to cooperate in programmes
for information exchange and research worker mobility defined
by the Community and in framing the training policies required
to meet any Community shortages of science specialists.
5.   Methods of cooperation and financing arrangements
The aim of the following proposals is to reconcile unity of v,s,on
ar:d strategic coherence at Community Level with the greatest possible
flexibility in the management and financing of programmes and
in the Level of participation by Member States and their nationals.
5.1   A coordination framework
    The Community TRD strategy is at present defined in a multiannual
framework programme. This could become a coordination framework
for Member States' and Community policies pursued in response
to needs jointly identified in certain fields. The adoption of
such a framework programme and its periodic review would give all
the Member States the opportunity to establish in every field
whether Europe has an adequate S-T base and whether the resources
deployed will enable its industry to meet outside competition.
    In the institutional system of the Communities, 3 it is up to
the Commission to fulfil its role as the driving force by issuing
proposals on its own initiative for the adoption and review of
the framework programme and following up its implementation.
2Esc, Normann report, Information report on EEC shared-cost research
  programmes, Brussels, 1985.
3Which would also be that of the Technology Community under the
  basic assumption of this paper.
 ---pagebreak---                                             - 8 -
    It is up to the Council,acting on the Commission's proposals and after
consulting Parliament, to adopt the framework programme and to establish in
agreement with Parliament the multiannual cash Limit for budget resources 4
to cover the Community's participation in the financing of TRD programmes.
The Council decisions adopting the major specific programmes could conceivably
be taken unanimously, but the ways and means of implementation should then
be decided by a qualified majority and with considerable delegation of executive
powers to the Commission.
5.2    Flexible cooperation methods
To carry out ambitious programmes, forms of cooperation must be found which:
- draw together for each project those partners - governments, firms and
   research centres - wishing to participate on the basis of a clear perception
   of the costs and benefits of their cooperation;
- Lead to the establishment of industrial consortia and the organization of
   intergovernmental cooperation in such a way as to harness the best available
   skills;
- rely on a European network of research establishment and universities in
   regular touch with each other and able to act as centres for generating
   research and technology and disseminating the results;
- allow participation by partners from non-Community countries.
Without going into the detail of management approaches and financing techniques,
the wide variety of the methods worked out under the Community's research
activities should be noted.
In precompetitive research, the most widely used and most satisfactory
management method at present 5 is the shared-cost project whereby the Community
awards research contracts (50% of the cost financed from the Community budget)
to multinational groups made up of university research centres, public
Laboratories and private firms. This method of management has demonstrated its
4
  community financing is the catalyst for eliciting contributions from governments
 and business.     These Latter sources of financing do not fall within the
  Community's budget procedures.
5
  According to the ESC survey of co-contractors (ESC, Normann Report, op. cit.).
 ---pagebreak---                                     - 9 -
effectiveness in the ESPRIT programme, which is primarily designed to
encourage trans-European cooperation.
Another method is the concerted action involving several project promoters
who share the financing; the Community defrays only the administrative costs
of concerting and coordination under agreements signed by the Member States
concerned and certain non-Community countries.
Finally, additional programmes    are financed solely by the Member States
wishing to take part; these will no Longer be Limited solely to the nuclear
field as soon as the new own resotlrces decision has entered into force.
Such management methods can be further adapted to take account of particular
requirements and to allow for the greatest possible degree of flexibility in
participation by Member States and their nationals in the various parts of
the research programmes.
The concerted actions could be broadened to cover a wider range of sectors
 and strengthen their coordination capacity with a modest financial
contribution from the Community.
The Community could also make a minority contribution to national or
multilateral measures, public or private, which are of Community interest;
this would be an expanded application of a method of action already used under
programmes to stimulate the Community's scientific and technical potential.
Where it is a matter of providing assistance for the exploitation of
results with the aim of extending the support given to precompetitive research
(predevelopment, prototype) and promoting the application, especially by
innovative SMEs, of the results, the Community must be allowed to deploy
non-budget resources, such as innovation loans and risk capital holdings.
The management tool used for the JET programme - the joint undertaking
provided for in the Euratom Treaty - can serve as the model for other projects
for the joint development and exploitation of major scientific facilities.
It presents several advantages:
•  variable configuration of national contributions
•  opening to participation by non-Community countries
•  Legal and financial autonomy
•  variable Level of Community budget contributions.
 ---pagebreak---                                    - 10 -
Finally, for the implementation of major strategic programmes for technological
development, plans must be laid for establishing, separately for each
programme, European agencies with legal and financial autonomy. This method
has been adopted successfully by the European Space Agency for pooling
national resources allocated to a programme of common interest.
The Community nature of the agencies would be given practical expression by
the link with the framework programme and the minority contribution which the
Community could make in the form of a grant (financed out of own resources)
to the agency's budget, on the understanding:
- that the agencies would be principally financed by contributions from the
   participating Member States; these contributions would not pass through the
   Community budget; ·
- that a minority contribution from the Community budget to the agencies'
   operating expenses and a Community · budget guarantee for loans issued
   by the agencies should be possible and should be decided on a case-by-case
   basis by the Council acting by a qualified majority.
5.3   Mobilization of financial resources
The scale of the funds needed to promote technological progress and face the
competition from other major countries means, as the European Council has
recognized at successive meetings since June 1983, that the resources allocated
to Community R&D must be substantially increased.
Nevertheless, even with such an increase and counting in
the Community's other financing instruments (borrowing/lending, additional
programmes, 6 and so on) the share of Community resources allocated to R&D
will still be only a small proportion of the total amount of such expenditure
in Member States' budgets.
It is therefore essential that national efforts, which will mobilize the
greater part of resources available for TRD, should be targeted on common.
objectives and a clear identification of the priorities adopted by each
partner. For Community measures proper, the management methods and financing
techniques (summarized below) open up wide possibilities for adapting to
specific situations, the variable participation of Member States and their
nationals and the association of non-Community countries or international
institutions.
6
  Provided for in the new Decision on own resources.
 ---pagebreak---                                   - 11 -
The proposed plan of approach therefore assumes:
- that the Member States are prepared to define, in a Community context,
  the strategy lines for action at both national and Community level;
- that the European Council will confirm its determination
  to increase the share of the Community budget devoted to the financing of
  R&D programmes.
 ---pagebreak---                                  - 12 -
               MANAGEMENT-METHODS AND FINANCING TECHNIQUES
Community framework programme
• Multiannual budget endowment to cover all expenditure from the
   Community budget provided for in the ·framework programme
1.   Research programmes
     • Shared-cost projects (e.g.     50% Community budget, 50% public
       and private co-contractors)
     • Concerted actions (for the coordination of current research
       activities in Member States). Expenditure from the Community
       budget limited to covering the general costs of concerting
       and coordination (about 2% of total cost);       it could be
       increased in some cases for the following purposes:
       - to increase the incentive to cooperation, in particular
         where research activities are widely dispersed (medical
         research, for example);
       - to go beyond mere concerting of existing programmes and
         encourage the development of hew research.
2.   Development and exploitation of - joint facilities
     • Joint undertakings with or without participation of the Community,
       all Member States, non-Community countries;
     • Direct action by the JRC under the Community budget, with the
       possible addition of
     • Additional programmes under national budgets.
3.   Strategic programmes
     either:    Specialized Community agencies
     or:        Bi-, tri- or multilateral associations of public or
                private European undertakings (on the lines of Airbus).
 ---pagebreak---                               - 13 -
       Sources of finance:
       • Minority contribution from the Community budget to agencies'
         operating expenditure
       • Contributions (under an ad hoe breakdown) of the Member States
         (or of their undertakings)
         Trading     receipts of agencies and invoicing of services
         to Member States.
         Community budget guarantee for agency Loan issues.
    4. Measures to-stimulate the Community's S-T potential
       • Contributions from the Community's research budget, with
         possible addition of assistance from the structural
         Funds.
    5. Aids to exploitation of results (defraying of predevelopment
       costs)
       • Loans to SMEs (application of new technologies and
         innovation) (NCI IV)
       • Risk capital contribution (pilot experiment now under way)
       • Community budget Chapter 75
       • Invoicing of services rendered.
(2)
 ---pagebreak---                                     - 14 -
6.     Criteria and methods for selecting -priority i'IH>-programmes
Scarce financial resources and even scarcer human resources (and Japan's
example) suggest that only a small number of carefully sele~ted programmes
should be Launched at the same time. In the selection of programmes a
decisive voice must be given to those who will be committing their assets
and whose spirit of enterprise will be the key to industrial success at
the end of the road. The aim is not to explore every possible scientific
avenue but to st:rengthe-nthe technological bases of European industry.
The broad criteria for the selection of the first List of programmes to
mobilize ta!entand resources and serving precise objectives could be as
follows:
• they must make a substantial contribution to strengthening Europe's
   scientific and technological potentia~ especially in fields where
   the international competitiveness of its industry is under threat;
• be of major economic and social value in harmony with the concerns and
   characteristics proper to our society;
   constitute measures for which the European dimension is a major advantage
   or even a necessity;
   they must be sufficiently attractive in aspiration and content to draw
   the best brains;
• they must attract public support.
For the selection and detailed planning of priority programmes and projects
and the definition, for each of them, of participation, financing
and management methods, the following procedure could be followed:
• A high-Level group of senior officials under the Commission's authority
   would be instructed to identify strategic options and priority themes
  and projects, to Lay down the terms of reference for the detailed
  definition-of each programme and to draw the conclusions. This
  executive group could be assisted by Leading figures from research (in
   particular members of CODEST) and industry •
• For each theme,groups of experts from industry and research convened
  by the Commission would define precise programmes with their targets,
   costs, time scales and conditions of participation. Each group would
  be chaired by one of its members.
 ---pagebreak---                                - 15 -
• On the  basis of this work,the Commission would draw up proposals
   either for projects to be implemented at the Commission's initiative
   or for the means of associating the Community with initiatives by
   Member States which would serve common objectives •
• After consultation of the high-level group, the proposals would be
   sent to the Council, which would decide on the Legal and financial
   details for each programme adopted.
The Commission has already made an initial study of themes which could
be adopted~ The Commission has drawn up detailed data sheets (attached)
for each of these themes, which are to be regarded as examples rather
than proposals:
1.   Information technologies and their main applications e.g. computer-aided
     manufacturing, artificial intelligence and the supercomputer
2.   Biotechnologies, in particular genetic and biomolecular engineering
     and their applications to health and agro-industry
3.   New (e.g. superconducting and ceramic) materials
4.   Lasers and optics
5.   Big science facilities such as particle/radiation sources and
     advanced windtunnels
6.   Broadband telecommunications
7.   New-generation means of transport
8.   Use of space
9.    Conquest of the marine environment
10. Education and training technologies
A necessary first step is to instruct the Commission to launch forthwith
the procedure for defining these priority projects so that some projects
can be approved by the end of the year.
 ---pagebreak---                                                                       - 16 -
               SYNERGETIC AND COMPOUND EFFECTS
               The following project areas are interconnected in many ways and
               mutually reinforcing. Table 1 shows the level of interactions between
               projects.
               To complete the description and give a synoptic view of the whole field, Table 2
               shows, for the measu~es proposed, their potential applications ·and their
               impact on competitiveness and employment, and Europe's relative position
               in each area.
                                                                                                 T A 8 L E
                                                                         ..                                                             .                                                                   .
           PROJECT INTERDEPENDENCIES
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Technologies       ·Artificial In.telligence and
                  ........ ~red Tnfnrma•inn Prncessino                                                                 ~ ~ "x                               X        X.         .      X
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                     ~
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                                       TABLE         2
                                                                                                                                                                        EEC ACTIONS . ~
                                                     OBJECTIVE                                       IMPACT                            POSITION OF        POLYVALENCE   CURRENTLY IN
                                                                            TECHNICAL                                                I EUROPE                           TRAIN OR
                                                                                                    OMPETITIVITY       EMPLOYMENT                                       PREPARATION    ~
                                                                            An\JlHJl"'C
    1. Telecommunications                        stimulate econo-1 high /                                              high/                                          ~ACE, TBB, video
                                                ~ic activity                   diversified              high                               good           very high    conferencing
                                                                                                                          positive
                                                tJi gh performanceJ high- /                        high in small          none             slight        very high        ESPRIT
    2. Supercomputers                              computation           I diversified                  sectors
                                                   on fort and secu             k d                     high         lhigh /               good           limited
    3. New grneration Transport syst~rity of transp. 1mare                                                               positive
                                                 improvement in             high /               ltonffii~   fyr  ·    marked /              .    .  I          · ..
    4. Health-care Technologies                 health 'and tongt             diversified          ~2 ~q5V~r;1~~t" .     positive       satisfactory i very l11111ted
                                                  .. .. -----------+----,-----,.--~
                                                :optimisation of           high/                  importanttdue ta high/positive        good
                                                                                                                                                     ' high           Technical
    5. •Education and.Training                  human resources               d"        .f. d      eed for ra,nea both dirwctlY                                       Eaucat1Oft
                                                                                 ,vers, ,e         anpgw_er~.-- ___ & 1nd1rec!l.Y_    __ - ~ - - -                    Initiative
    6. Space                                    High value
                                                 ,;id9ed services
                                                                            high/
                                                                              diversified
                                                                                                  in specialised
                                                                                                  sectors
                                                                                                                    I  slight/
                                                                                                                         positive
                                                                                                                                        good            potentially
                                                                                                                                                        considerable
                                                                                                                                                                      CCR
                                                                                                                                                                      DGXII-DGVII I
   -------:-..__-~---r.:Use of bios.pher, high/                                                 !high                 high/             good
    7. Agricultural industrial                                                                                                                         none           biotechnC?logies
         n.-o;•rt'         ·                     for-renewable
                                                     ,....,,..     .          diversified                              · positive
   8. Deep-sea exploitation
                                               1
                                                ~aw        inater·ials  I  moderate/             within traditior-weak/                 good            weak_
    9 • n rma 1 on , l t
         Technol qjes'e ec ron1cs
                                     .
                                                and agriculture
   - --I-f-o-~-.--.-,m-i_c_r_o_&_o_p_t_o___-+-.emxi:~vt~.:mgenfco. , high/
                                                    1~ 1n         uric-
                                                   ~W'en~freatim 0 1
                                                                              specialized
                                                                              genera
                                                                                        l
                                                                                                 al industries
                                                                                                 very high
                                                                                                      .
                                                                                                                         positive
                                                                                                                      medium/
                                                                                                                            . ..
                                                                                                                         pos1tive
                                                                                                                                    I   weak         I  full
                                                                                                                                                             .- •     ESPRIT
           .                 Artificial Intel                              very high             high/ very           weak ,            m!!dium        full           ESPRIT
          lJgence and ~dvanced Informa-                                                          specialized
         t1on Pr cess,n                                                                                                                                                                  .....
                                                                           "high/.                                    slight                           high                              -..J
  11. Computer Integrated Manufact-                                                             ~very high                             medium                         ESPRIT
         uring                   ·                                            diversified                                                                                                  I
                                                scientific and I high i~ the                     high in the          slight in the     satisfactory   very high      BRITE
                    -l~vanced materials         tPchnical progr~llong term                       long term            short term
 New fllate-
  rials,             1~.
                     Super conduction
                                                scientific
                                                technic.progres term
                                                                    and J  high long             in the high in
                                                                                                the long term
                                                                                                                      slight in the
                                                                                                                      short term
                                                                                                                                        satisfac~ory   important      BRITE
                     I <o.
                                               ;hypersonic pro-            high-in narrow        high                 slight           good            high
                     Aerospace prop.                                       sector
                                              lP_uls ion           ·
                                               Sc i ent ifi c and          marked/               indirect             slight           good·           high
15. Lasers and optics                          tech.progress                  diversified
L               l    A~~h energy physics       Researcb into              high narrow          :..ery indirect        slight           excellent       slight
 artge acce_                       ·           element.particu             sector
era ors                                                                  ·
                     Synchroton                Photon-matter              high/.                indirect              slight           good            sl_i ght
                     17.                       1nteraction                    diversified
18. Windtunnels                                i3¥S~RBffN 8~            - high/                !essential             slight           good            very high
                                              ltran!!lnort              1___ diY.eJ"..S.iii"rl
 ---pagebreak---                                   ANNEX
POSSIBLE MOBILIZING PROJECTS
The projects listed below have been selected because of their potential
industrial and socio-economic impact.     At this stage they should be
regarded as examples rather than as final proposals, which will have to be
examined in much greater detail and discussed in depth and be the subject
of consultations between the various parties concerned in the political,
economic and scientific arenas of the Member States.
1. Information technologies and their main applications,            such as
   computer-aided      manufacturing,    artificial     intelligence     and
   supercomputer
2. Biotechnologies, in particular genetic and biomolecular       engineering
   and their applications in the health field and in agro-industry
3. New materials, such as superconductors and ceramics
4. Lasers and optics
5. Large sci enti fi c instruments such as parti cle/radi at ion sources and
   advanced windtunnels
6. Broadband telecommunications
7. New-generation means of transport
8. Use of space
9. Mastering the marine environment and exploring the earth's crust
1O.Education and training technologies
 ---pagebreak---                                 1-1
 1. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES AND THEIR MAIN APPLICATIONS
 These technologies include microelectronics and optoelectronics, the
 software industry and all the other disciplines associated with data
 processing such as artificial intelligence, in other words all the
 techniques that play an important role in the acquisition,
 processing, transmission and storage of information.
 Large-scale precompetitive R&D activities are being conducted in this
field at both Community and national Levels. At Community level, the
 ESPRIT programme (European Strategic Programme for Research and
 Development in Information Technologies) represents a public and
private-sector investment to a total of 1.5 mill ion ECU for the
period 1984-88.
The    main   applications   of    information  technologies   include
telecommunications (a speci a L Community programme intended to meet
requirements in this field has been placed before the Council),
defence, computer integrated manufacture and automated office systems
 (the Last two sectors, also covered by ESPRIT, are of major strategic
importance with regard to the provision of products and services),
and consumer electronics with its substantial growth rate.     ALL are
heavi Ly dependent on both advances in information technologies and
further development of them.
In all these sectors,    additional emphasis should be placed on two
specific fields of the   work conducted at various Levels within the
Community       firstly  microelectronic and optoelectronics,     then
artificial intelligence  and advanced information processing.
MICROELECTRONICS AND OPTOELECTRONICS
Microelectronics is at the heart of thousands of products ranging
from highly sophisticated systems such as telecommunications and
observation satellites or professional and personal computers to
watches and toys.      Today, the world turnover in this industrial
 ---pagebreak---                                1-2
sector is about US$ 30 thousand million, but the estimated turnover
in other sectors in future years which make use of microelectronics
amounts to more than US$ 660 thousand million.
Optoelectronics utilizes the visible part of the electromagnetic
spectrum in order to fulfi LL the same functions as conventional
electronics (e.g. data transmission, processing and storage).     Its
advantages are a transmission capacity which is thousands of times as
great and a speed which is theoretically 1000 times as great.
European industry's share of the world market in this rapidly
expanding strategic sector is very small : about 5 % of the world
market in the case of the most advanced products and 10 % as regards
all products taken together.
The small volume of production combined with the Later arrival of
microelectronic products on the market (mainly integrated circuits)
deprives European industry of a source of revenue comparable to those
of its principal rivals to finance the investments that are necessary
to remain in the race or even to enter it as a credible runner.
European investments over the Last two years were between US $ 300
million and US$ 400 million while the US and Japanese firms invested
four to five times as much during the same period.
As in case at present in the USA and Japan, a cooperative approach to
research and development is becoming an imperative necessity in
Europe.    ESPRIT is showing the way for coordinated research within
the Community: it is hoped that proper financing will be accompanied
by a number of major mobilizing and coalescing projects in both the
equipment field and materials. European production depends for basic
materials and its most critical equipment on imports mostly from the
US or more recently Japan.·     With a few exceptions this dependence
 results in Europe technology suffering from delivery delays of at
 Least one year.    However, as Japan recently demonstrated, it is
possible, to re-establish (or establish) a certain foothold (even by
 ---pagebreak---                                 1-3
 aggressive means as in the case of Japan) in a carefully chosen
 sector of the market and, by so doing, bring about further advances
 and growth in the sector.
The supply or manufacture of integrated circuits under licence
appears to be both economically sensible and devoid of risk.     There
 is a greater level of integration aimed at obtaining both better
performance and lower production costs. Increasing amounts of system
manufacturers' know-how is incorporated into the silicon chips which
are sub-assemblies with considerable added value, not just "simple"
components.
Two examples can serve as illustrations
- semiconductor memories
- microprocessors
Both these could suitably be covered by a European programme since
they are the driving forces behind the development of the integrated
circuits industry and data processing for which Europe now depends on
the United States and Japan. Losing control over these sub-assemblies
would seriously inhibit innovation capacities as regards the design
of complex systems, an area in which Europe has traditionally been
very strong, and would result in a brain drain and loss of jobs.
- Random access memories. The aim could  be create a 64 megabit memory
   by 1995, i.e. a chip with a capacity  100 times that of the present
   advanced circuits. The only way to do this is to reduce the lateral
   dimensions of the structures (to less than 0,5 um), something which
   cannot be done by means of the equipment available today, and to
   evolve a new memory cell concept,        probably based on three
   dimensions. The project would call for around 2000 man-years.
   Advanced microprocessor.    The object would be to design and
   construct, within five year, a European-inspired microprocessor
   circuit, incorporating the latest results in terms of breakdown-
   tolerance, architecture and addressing.      With the aid of an
   appropriate strategy, a joint development, using, for example,
   certain of the micronic manufacturing technologies and design
 ---pagebreak---                                 1-4
  systems currently being studied in the context of the ESPRIT
  programme, could result in a standard. An estimated 1000 man-years
  would be needed for this project.
Alongside    these   widely   used   integrated   circuits,    systems
manufacturers want to reduce the gestation time for an electronic
assembly in order to make it more competitive. One solution seems tb
be to set-up prototype workshops (foundries) for the production of
integrated circuits. Because there is only a very limited European
market at present, this could cover construction of the following:
- silicon signal-processing circuits
- very high speed GaAs circuits
- The "Silicon Foundry" project would involve the rapid creation
   (approximately 2 years) of a joint European workshop, first using
  proven CMOS-technology, then a mixed CMOS-bipolar process, properly
  adapted to this type of application like those developed under the
   ESPRIT programme. The most important point remains, however, the
  development of CAD tools and the establishment of a standard cell
   library, in order to achieve fast and effective integrated circuit
  design. It is estimated that such a project would involve 1000
  man-years and investment in a suitable production line (150 million
   ECU).
   Although there is at present only a very small market for GaAs
   foundry products, there seems to be a great many applications :
   • cache memories and ultra-high-speed arithmetic units for super-
     computers;
   • processing of high-speed signals and random logic for broadband
     telecommunications or cellular radiotelephony for example.
   The considerable investment,     in terms of both equipment and
   brainpower, required for R&D in respect of manufacturing and design
   technologies for ultra-high-speed circuits makes the idea of having
   a European industrial consortium attractive as regards developing
   the technology and establishing a pilot unit. An initial estimate
   suggests that 1000 man-years would be required over five years.
 ---pagebreak---                                 1-5
The object of the four projects described above is to maintain or
improve Europe's position in the field of professional electronics.
In order not to be left behind on the high-definition television
markets of tomorrov and,     therefore,  in an important part of the
consumer sector,   European industry must provide for the development
of a range of specific integrated circuits for digital coding and
decoding  of   signals   along   similar  lines   to  those   current Ly
recommended for satellite television (DC2-MAC-packet),      as soon as
possible after standards have been defined.    With the development of
the equipment for production and programme-recording,   the project is
likely to involve around 1500 man-years over a period of 7 years.
 ---pagebreak---                                1-6
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ADVANCED INFORMATION PROCESSING
Artificial intelligence is a fairly recent discipline that is
developing very rapidly.    New, more sophisticated and more powerful
expert systems are announced at frequent intervals.
Expert systems provide a considerable improved service in many areas
of application     medicine, biology, chemistry, geology, design aids
and fault detection in industry, to name but a few.         They have
repercussions in a LL branches of the economy and expect a direct
impact on industrial competitiveness.
Although European technology is well placed here (partly thanks to
ESPRIT and a few national projects), Japan has proved in the past
that efforts which combine basic technology with a careful choice of
markets can place it in a strong position in new high-technology
sectors (for example memories).    Government programmes under way in
Japan and the United Stated and the concerted R&D efforts of American
companies are focusing on artificial intelligence and software
technology; this fact alone should convince Europe of the need to
contemplate intensifying its efforts in order to avoid a subsequent
decline in its industrial competitiveness in these key sectors.
The entire field of artificial intelligence and advanced information
processing is currently covered by the Community's ESPRIT programme.
The efforts undertaken should nevertheless be intensified with a view
to :
- enhancing the integration of simple artificial intelligence systems
   into the more complex systems which more closely resemble human
  thought processes and are more capable of meeting the potential
  needs of users;
- improving the conditions of economic production in order to reduce
  the final cost of such systems.
The diversity of the fields of application, the Lack of industrial
experience in the use of such systems and the relative "simplicity"
of all present day systems taken individually show that a great deal
 ---pagebreak---                                1-7
of investment still has to be made in order to integrate artificial
intelligence into systems that can be used by professionals who are
not computer specialists.
Such investment should cover:
1. The industrialization of the initial results already obtained,
   focusing on :
     software technology, since - as with any software - expert
     systems will have to satisfy industrial production criteria;
     the architecture of complex systems, in order to enable expert
     systems to cooperate with each other and give access to large
     amounts of data.    Such architectures will also have to satisfy
     external contraints relating to confidentiality, response time,
     man/machine interface, etc.;
   - the integration of these components into specialized systems by
     means of design aids.
2. The intensification of research on basic techniques, with special
   emphasis on modelling: knowledge models, learning models, dialogue
   models and reasoning models.        These developments benefit in
   particular from progress made in education technologies.
3. Industrial awareness schemes for the uses of these new
   technologies.    Such action can be facilitated particularly by
   placing specialized centres at the disposal of those concerned
   (see the section on large computers).
Two examples of projects may help to       illustrate better what is
desired.
 ---pagebreak---                                1-8
- Expert system for weather forecasting and the environment
- Knowledge-based multi-sensor system
Each of these projects illustrates one of the first       two points
mentioned above.
The aim of the first project is to use existing basic techniques and
apply them to a specific case of sufficient complexity in order to
improve industrial competence with regard to integration and the
archtitecture of complex systems. This project needs the results of
current studies on the acquisition, representation and hardl ing of
knowledge and of systems interconnection networks. The developments
will include the programming of a complex system, the construction of
a knowledge data-base, and the design and production of architectures
suited to cooperation between expert systems. The project is expected
to take some 1000 man-years over a 5 to 6 year period.
The aim of the second project is to intensify studies of basic
techniques ; by linking two fields, sensors and knowledge, this
project should provide the stimulus to intensify the work on
knowledge models to make knowledge accessible to acquisition systems
via a machine/machine or man/machine interface. The work involved is
expected to require 250 man-years over a period of at least three
years.
 ---pagebreak---                                 1-9
 COMPUTER INTEGRATED MANUFACTURING
 Encompassing a range of technologies that make it possible to achieve
 integrated factory automation within a broader framework of
operations and company management,        CIM is at the heart of a
 continually expanding market and is now affecting industrial sectors
where it was unknown (for example, the clothing and food industries).
 Statistics show that the European market in the computer-aided design
and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) sector alone was worth US$ 320 million
 in 1982 and forecast that this market will represent US $ 1.050
million in 1985 and grow by nearly 50% to US$ 1.550 million in 1986.
Precisely because it covers several pre-existing sectors, it is as
yet extremely difficult to quantify CIM as a whole accurately.
Europe's wealth, whi eh was in the past based on its ability to
produce goods with a high added value at competitive prices, is today
threatened by competition in this area from other countries that
benefit from:
-  lower labour costs (Asia or South America);
-  more stringent quality control (Japan);
-  huge internal markets (United States);
-  direct government financing (United States and Japan).
Progress in manufacturing technology, which has been made possible by
the application of information technology (IT), will soon have a
major impact on factors affecting production (such as the effect of
the direct labour cost on the overall cost of production, or the
importance of large scale production, which is partly called into
question by flexible manufacturing systems or FMS).
The general improvements in the efficiency,           reliability and
adaptability of manufacturing systems brought about by IT offer
Europe a unique opportunity of regaining its predominant position in
the manufacturing industry, provided it makes the necessary efforts.
 ---pagebreak---                                   1-10
    In Japan and the United States, major R&D activities have been
    financed by the state in recent years, with remarkable results:
    public funds amounting to US $ 444 million were thus spent in Japan
    between 1972 and 1982 on stimulating the machine-tool industry.
    During the same period, Japanese exports in this sector increased
    from about half to three times those of the United States.
    The Japanese are particularly effective in ensuring that ideas and
    energies are pooled, that cross-fertilization takes place between
    different disciplines and that there is continuity between projects.
    In the United States, the combined effect on CIM of expenditure by
    the Department of Defense (DOD) and civil financing is considerable.
    The US Air Force has for a long time been actively supporting
    developments in CIM, which has made it possible to provide decisive
    financial support for a large number of projects in the field.
    Interest in advanced production technologies in the United States has
    considerably increased since the seventies.   In general, activities
    have been coordinated by the DOD within the MANTECH programme.    The
    !CAM (Integrated Computer-Aided Manufacturing) programme, which was
     Launched in 1977-78 by the US Air Force, has been allocated rapidly
    increasing funds.
    Production technologies are passing through a transitional phase.
    Europe cannot let slip the opportunity it is being given of
    capitalizing on existing R&D investments. It must make optimum use of
    the assets and resources that exist in the Community.       The world
    market in industrial automation will probably be worth something
    between US $ 65 million and 75 million in 1989,            whereas it
    represented only US $ 15 million in 1983.     A great economic effort
    needs to be made to support such growth: the European CIM market
    should double over the next four years.
    Nevertheless, without· an energetic standardization and coordination
    effort, the results obtained in the different countries would not be
    able to mesh together, and the risk of duplication of research work
    would be great.
(3)
 ---pagebreak---                                 1-11
 The economic and social importance of CIM is decisive, as can be seen
 from the example of FIAT.    A motor manufacturer of the size of FIAT
 owes its survival through the recession (which was threatening to
 cause the collapse of the firm in the seventies) to a great extent to
 the large-scale introduction of CIM in its production processes.
 This clearly brought about major social upheavals,          since the
 introduction of CIM systems involves a transitional phase during
which the improvement it enables large firms to make in their
competitive position is not immediately counterbalanced by the
 creation of new job opportunities.      This is an extremely delicate
problem which will have to be taken into account when considering
plans for European involvement in CIM.
Furthermore, technological dependence on the United States and Japan
would prevent Europe embarking on a positive reaction process which
would enable it to reap the greatest benefits from its own
technological advances.        It is already possible to envisage
production systems largely based on European technology in which the
direct labour cost represents less than 10% of the total cost of the
product.
It can be deduced from these      considerations that an international
European effort in this area is even more essential than it is
desirable, particularly since there are examples which demonstrate
the validity of such an approach: one of the most obvious examples is
the ESPRIT programme, in which the Community has proven that it is
able to act as a major catalyst in promoting R&D on the technologies
necessary for the development of CIM.        These technologies cannot,
however, create wealth in themselves, as long as they are not applied
effectively.
Two projects, which are described below are therefore being proposed
as part of the actions planned for the area of CIM. One is aimed at
developing integration centres for the elements which go to make up
computer-integrated manufacture, which are the result of research
work carried out by European manufacturers as a whole, and which
should make a contribution to consolidating their position on the
European and international markets.       The other project is more
 ---pagebreak---                               1-12
specific, namely to develop a virtually independant robot to operate
in a hostile environment. This second project is a concrete example,
with a particular topic, of the potential of the new technologies.
 ---pagebreak---                                1-13
HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTERS
The new computer architectures have been designed either to increase
computational power for numerical-data processing (supercomputers) or
to make possible the processing of symbolic (non-numerical) data, in
such applications as artificial intelligence.
The supercomputer market, which had a value of US$ 15.000 million in
1984, is expected to show an annual rate of increase of 20%.     This
market is a US monopoly (IBM and three other companies), although a
number of Japanese firms have been attempting to fill certain gaps
since the end of 1983.        The European industry, which is not
represented in this market, has concentrated its effort on medium and
low-power computers.   European users are totally dependent on the US
and may soon be similarly dependent on Japan.    These users, however,
are found in such different industrial sectors as oi L prospecting,
the chemicals industry, aerospace - particularly as regards wind-
tunnel applications (see advanced wind-tunnel project) - and
meteorology to quote just a few examples.   Moreover, only a Limited
number of supercomputers have been installed in Europe owing to the
scale of investment required, with consequent disadvantages for the
whole fabric of industry (designers, users) and the universities
(teaching, research).
Although the symbolic data-processing market is only at the initial
stage of development, it is expected to show considerable growth as
the application of artificial intelligence becomes more widespread.
Studies reveal a potential for expansion at least as rapid as that of
the supercomputer market.    Plans for the development of appropriate
machines were first announced by the Japanese under their fifth-
generation project and a similar announcement quickly followed from
the US, where a Large number of microelectronics and data-processing
firms agreed to pool their efforts.
 ---pagebreak---                                1-14
Although ESPRIT covers the design   and development of such machines in
Europe, it makes no provision       for them to be made avai Lable to
industrial or university users.      Such experimentation in industrial
contexts provides indispensable    assistance for the improvement of
design.
A mobilizing project relating to new computer architectures could be
devised as follows:
1. Design and development of new architectures
   The human and financial resources,        as well as the Level of
   competence, required for the development of a supercomputer, call
   for association and cooperation at the European Level.
   Architectures for symbolic data-processing are covered by ESPRIT
   and some of the relevant projects are already in progress.         A
   parallel study of the integration of these two types of
   architecture as a back-up to the creation of information-handling
   systems could make use of expert-systems architecture and
   contribute to their development.
2. Creation of service centres
   Specialist service centres could be created in order to accelerate
   the execution of certain studies and the exploitation of the
    results obtained from ESPRIT and the above-mentioned projects.
   These centres would be interconnected so as to benefit from the
   complementarity of services, speed up the exchange of information
   and promote the use of advanced new computer equipment.
   They would make it possibl& to provide:
   - bases enabling the designers of new architecture to evaluate
      their work in progress,
 ---pagebreak---                                     1-15
        - research facilities and a framework for teaching and training
           experiments for university staff,
        - the software and basic equipment required by industry for the
           improvement of its software technology,
        - the user services required.
        Such centres could be distributed throughout Europe, possibly in a
        specialized form such as:
        - a supercomputer service, operating as a service office 1,
        - an applications-support centre designed to familiarize potential
          operators with these new computer facilities, provide them with
          training in their use and enable them to assess their impact on
          existing working methods,
        - project-support centres,       involving the participation of
          industrialists and the Commission, designed to promote the
          spread of European products and the convergence of the
          participants' interests (definition of standards).
        The scale of the investment required to launch such a project
        means that it is difficult, not to say impossible, for industry
        alone to take an initiative. These difficulties could be overcome
        by the establishment of European-scale cooperation on this
        subject.
     Two projects may help to illustrate how a supercomputer can be used
     in these fields.
1 Service office : provision, within a network, of a specialized service
  shared by a large number of users.
 ---pagebreak---                                1-16
- Supercalculator for numerical data-processing
   High-performance calculators encompassing both       symbolic   and
   numerical data-processing.
The aim of the first project is to increase computational power for
numerical data-processing (100 GFL0PS). This can only be achieved by
relying on a number of complementary sectors      microelectronics (As
Ga rapid components, seep. 1-4), software technology (programming
tools), design aids, plus a number of sectors where it can be applied
 (oil prospecting, chimical industry, aeronotics, meteorology, etc.).
Given the multi-disciplinary nature of the teams, this project calls
for a high level of coordination ; it is expected to take 2500 man-
years over 5 to 6 years.
The second project, whi eh integrates symbolic and numerical data-
processing involves the study of an architecture or rather a family
of architectures, the components of which will be existing computers
 (supercomputer, non-von Neumann machines) ; it will be adaptable to
 ranges of applications. This project will benefit from the study of
architecture of multi-expert systems and provide a back-up for
applications requiring high performances either in terms of the
volume of information handled or of the necessary response times.    It
 is expected to take some 2000 man-years over a 6 year period.
 ---pagebreak---                                    2-1
2. BIOTECHNOLOGIES
The first steps taken by the Community to master and exploit modern
biotechnologies date back to the launching of a research and training
programme in the field of biomolecular engineering (1982), which was
followed in 1985 by the.approval of a more substantial biotechnology
programme.    These programmes are characterized by a choice of topics
and implementing procedures that should make it possible to remove a
set of barriers which seriously jeopardize the chances of exploiting
in Europe the recent advances in biomolecular engineering : the
inadequacy of research support infrastructures, the failure of
fundamental knowledge to keep up with new methods of investigation,
the fragmentation (or even divergence) of efforts between one country
and another and between publicly-funded research and industry, and
the difficulty of at last reaching a critical mass.        This initial
Community action represents a capital of invested effort which, if it
is to be fully exploited, should be able to give birth to major
action projects that pursue commonly-recognized objectives and whose
repercussions whould be perceptible.      The Commission is today in a
position to implement such projects, which can be developed on the
basis of technological knowledge that has been built up through
programmes in hand, to stimulate intense activity embracing - without
any discrimination between disciplines - the many scientific and
technical achievements of our time, and lastly to combine existing
resources to carry out pre-competitive work of interest to the
Community.
These projects can be classified under three main headings which
illustrate effectively the qualities of living matter and the nature
of its relationships with the environment :
1.    Genetic and biomolecular technologies as applied          to  the
      exploration of the properties of living matter;
2.    Agro-industrial technologies for the benefit          of   better
      cooperation between agriculture and industry;
3.    Health technologies   for  the   benefit of the development of
      preventive medicine.
 ---pagebreak---                                  2-2
I. Genetic and Biomolecular Technologies
Introduction
Genomes constitute the basis for differentiation between species and
for their "competitive" properties. One intrinsic quality of genomes
is their capacity to reproduce themselves.      However, through the
generations and in the continuity of phylogenetic lines, their
reproduction is subject to continual, infinitesimal variations which
accumulate in time giving rise to the well-known phenomenon of
evolution-selection.    Evolution is registered by the genome and is
inherent to life.    Selection, on the other hand, is artifactual,
resulting from the "dialogue" between genes and an unstable, changing
environment.    The process of evolution and selection not only leads
to an enriching of the biosphere by diversifying the capacities of
living beings, but also results accidentally in chance errors
(evolutionary cul-de-sacs of the scale of geological eras;
individual, genetic defects and handicaped persons on the scale of
human generations).     It has always been characteristic of human
activity to exert a strong influence over the selective pole of the
evolution-selection binomial, e.g. by selecting animal and plant
species for agriculture and by collecting microbial stock for food
fermentations.
Towards the end of the 20th century, the techno logi ea l society is
faced with the effects of a vastly increased capacity to understand
and master the evolutionary mechanisms of biomolecules and species,
which have until now been a mystery to us.     It is possible for the
first time to control both poles of the evolution-selection binomial
simultaneously.     The technological leap forward which is at the
origin of this unprecedented situation comes from the development, in
only ten years, of a number of molecular tools which are prodigiously
successful in elucidating the mechanisms underlying the properties of
 living organisms, in• parallel with the development of increasingly
effective back-up instrumentation for retrieving and processing
biological data.
 ---pagebreak---                                     2-3
 In the present state of basic technologfoal knowledge, two big
 projects would immediately make use of the most advanced genetic
 technologies for the benefit of the scientific and industrial
 Community:
 - the description of the genomes of a number of higher organisms and
    the genetic and molecular exploration of some of their functional
    properties with important implications for the medical sector or
    agro-industry;
 - directed evolution making it possible to plan development at the
    level of molecules and organisms.
 A.    Description of the structure of the genomes of certain higher
       organisms and of the mechanisms determining important functional
       properties
This is a task very much of the moment both because of the size of
the stake involved and both of the present synergy between
traditionally isolated disciplines such as formal genetics, cell
biology and molecular biology.         In the forfront of this mutual
enriching is molecular biology which is providing formidable
investigatory tools such as restriction enzymes for gene cutting and
grafting (splicing), molecular hybridization techniques to identify
genes with DNA probes, two- or three-dimensional electrophoresis
techniques to describe the polymorphism of DNA, RNA or protein types
and the kinetics by which they appear, specific marking by monoclonal
antibodies and, of course, the ever-increasing number of molecular
cloning vectors permitting in vitro purification, amplification and
mobility betwen the different hosts of a theoretical, unlimited
number of genetic properties.
The study      of genomes  has become   central to  genetic  technology
because :
-    the most immediate use of the abovementioned molecular tools
    consists in using them to explore the genome and the way in which
    it functions;
 ---pagebreak---                                   2-4
- in a more distant future, their exploitation in medicine, industry
   and agriculture will depend on how well the structures and means of
   regulation of the genomes (the only sources of new genetic
   properties) of useful organisms are understood.
The genome contains all the silent or expressed genetic data that
each organism transmits to the genetic "pool" of its succeeding
generations.
The project should be approached in two ways : on the basis of the
total genome and on that of the important property.
- As regards the whole genome, the task is so complex and important
   that well-reasoned choices must be made.      One or two animal and
   plant species should be selected and a full set of data compiled on
   their genomes (genomic libraries),       with physical maps being
   produced gradually.    Since the structure of genomes is not fixed,
   it will be important to gain a better understanding of their stable
   states and changes.     At his Level, the si Lent sections of the
   genome are particularly important and the project will have to
   inc Lude the study of genetic data sequences common to different
   genomes, the study of repeated DNA sequences Can as yet unexplained
   minority factor in animals and a majority one in plants), and the
   study of the kinetics of transposable elements.    Unless account is
   taken of the internal organization of hereditary material, no
    Long-term protocol is conceivable either for the transfer of genes
   between species that are useful to human beings or for the
   correction of certain genetic defects affecting human health.
 - On the basis of the important property,   it is essential to be able
   to reconstitute the metabolic intermediaries involved in the
   expression of a useful character, and to trace back the molecular
                                       •
    path which make the function subject to the control of a given
   number of genes. · It is the expressed part of the genome whi eh is
    then explored, and this task - whi eh complements the preceding
   one - can be satisfactorily completed only if it is perfectly
    targeted on a limited number of properties that are "useful" (in
    terms of their exploitation by man) or, at all events, "important"
 ---pagebreak---                                    2-5
    Cin terms of health and resistance to illness). This project could
   then provide a knowledge base and a technological platform enabling
   preventive medicine or the improvement of animal and plant species
   to be further developed.         The latter aspect concerns,      in
   particular, genetic engineering applications in agriculture, which
   are still held back by our lack of basic knowledge of the
   biochemistry, physiology and genetics of the characters that
   determine the economic importance of the higher plants
   senescence, reproduction, hybrid vigour, symbiosis, the build-up of
   proteins, carbohydrates and oils, etc.      These characters must be
   precisely defined in terms of essential functions and underlying
   mechanisms if the effectiveness of genetic engineering is to be
   increased and the scope of its applications broadened.
The number of these essential functions and of the corresponding gaps
in the knowledge we could possibly have of them is today so great
that no rational and effective effort could be made without
extensively pooling the skills and resources that have scattered
among a few European laboratories.      The pooling of all these skills
is not merely necessary in order to attain a critical mass in terms
of scientific investments and optimum distribution of research work;
it is also a requisite condition for the parallel development of
advanced research on a few plants that are cultivated on a large
scale and constitute some of the challenges facing the common
agricultural policy: barley, in terms of its capacity to produce a
high-calorie animal feedingstuff whose nutritional           value is
perfectible Camino acids), the field bean as a source of protein, and
oilseed plants, not to mention the many other species that make it
possible to exploit natural fibres and secondary metabolites or
merely constitute useful sources of genes for protocols involving
transfer through natural reproductive barriers (resistance genes,
etc.).
 ---pagebreak---                                    2-6
B. Methods for controlling molecular evolution
A project aimed at making it possible to plan molecular evolution can
be tackled, as in the preceding case, via an approach based on
function (a peptide or an enzyme function) or an approach based on
the encoding molecule · (which on this scale, is not a genome, but a
simplified molecular matrix, an RNA).
The function-based approach is tackled in the context of protein
engineering, which is the subject of a Commission project that forms
part of its current biotechnology programme. Although this project -
which is still inadequate when compared with the number of active
molecules whose structural and functional analysis is becoming
desirable - is sure to develop far beyond the limits of the current
programme, it will not be included in this sheet as a new project
designed to strenghten the technological base already operational in
the Community.
The encoding molecule ·approach is concretized in the development of a
highly futuristic technology designed to provoke the acceleration of
molecular evolution in order theoretical Ly to reproduce, over a
compressed timescale, some of the evolutionary processes which may
have given rise to life on earth. The approach springs from a theory
 <"the hypercycle"> based on the belief that molecules organize
themselves spontaneously in conditions in which Darwinian selection
takes place.
Some of the principles on which this theory is built have found
perfect experimental illustration in the in vitro replication
properties of a molecular matrix CRNA). This system is capable of
reproducing the type of events that were probably involved in the
origin of life, by producing random sequences of genetic information
through RNA reproduction.      Since such reproduction allows a limited
degree of inaccuracy, this sel f-repl i eating process gives rise to
variations in the phenotypes.       The method is aimed at establishing
what types of sequences can appear in each replication cycle and
studying the possibility of producing a spectrum of all the possible
types of sequences that is sufficiently dense to make it possible to
 ---pagebreak---                                   2-7
 select those which offer a phenotypical advantage and identify the
 structures responsible for the acquisition of a property under
 investigation.
The technology developed to build this "machine for accelerating
molecular evolution" should be exploitable for the screening of very
 large numbers of genetic information sequences similar to those
encoded for known proteins,      in order to select for optimized
biotechnological properties. It will make it possible to produce, in
accelerated time, macromolecules bearing genetic information of a
novel nature, i.e. the combination of which would perhaps not have
had the chance of occurring in nature.
Biotechnological applications are still subject to the development of
appropriate technological processes for automated series dilution,
the synchronized incubation of molecular populations and growth
measurements, all of which will require sophisticated instrumentation
based on laser and computer technology.       They no longer have to
depend, however, on any hypothetical progress in science, since it
has been demonstrated that they       are founded  on  the   logic of
biological evolution and selection.
II. Agro-Industrial Technologies
Rapid developments in knowledge and techniques,           notably in
biotechnologies and automation, are rapidly altering the socio-
economic environment in which agriulture operates as a producer of a
great variety of renewable materials, some of which are produced in
excessive quantities, while others are insufficient for our needs.
Furthermore, the nature, volume and marketing of these products give
rise to problems which research must help to solve, in particular by
providing openings for greater diversification and an improvement in
the quality of the raw materials produced, and in their use by the
consumer and the industrial networks.        Such developments would
obviously reduce the cost of the common agricultural policy, which
currently accounts for the lion's share of the Community budget.
Indeed, closer integration of agricultural and industrial activities,
 ---pagebreak---                                    2-8
whi eh has become desirable and possible mainly through developments
in the new biotechnologies, could lead to favourable developments and
new openings for the CAP. Among other things, it is now possible to
transform agricultural products into chemicals, so introducing a new
flexibility into the use of our resources.
If agricultural production is to be better matched to the needs of
consumers and industry,       projects based on agricultural land
management and use of agricultural products must be implemented.
A. Projects for improved Land use better adapted to the market
- Development of remote-sensing and computerized soil-management
   techniques in order to achieve the optimum balance, at regional
   level, between various types of crops, grassland, woodland and
   leisure areas.
   Improvement of the agronomic properties of crops,    so as to reduce
   the required amount of fertilizer (fixation of atmospheric
   nitrogen) and pesticides in order to cut input costs and damage to
   the environment; improved adaptability of plants to difficult eco-
   climatic conditions.
- Development of crops better matched to the needs of the consumer
    (such as improving the nutritional and organoleptic properties) and
   industry (polysaccharides, oils and fats with special properties,
   molecules with high added value, fibres, etc •• ).
B. Projects for better use of products
 - Use of starch and sugar as raw materials, under certain market
   conditions, for a wide range of industrial products (organic acids
   and antibiotics).
 ---pagebreak---                                   2-9
- Separation, treatment and new uses of milk derivatives.
- Development of biosensors to verify the quality of food products
   throughout the agri-foodstuffs production chain,       in order to
   respond more fully to consumer concern about food quality.
   Agricultural and agri-foodstuffs engineering to improve tools,
   especially through use of advanced monitoring and analytical
   techniques.
C. Demonstration projects
- Growing and exploiting industrial products, at farm level, based on
   improved or radically new species, for technical and economic
   evaluation.
   New harvesting and on-farm processing methods, in the spirit of the
   agricultural refineries described by Rexen and Munck( 1).
III. Health Technologies
The extremely spectacular progress which is now taking place in the
fields of genetic engineering,        cell pathology and scientific
instrumentation should make it possible to achieve a considerable
improvement in diagnostic methods (particularly early diagnosis) and,
as a result, in the rapid treatment of developing diseases or the
protection of individuals who are especially susceptible to certain
forms of attack from the environment.
The contribution of the new technologies to preventive medicine can
take a wide variety of forms, encompassing basic applications of
genetic engineering and new developments in the fields of scientific
instrumentation and medical equipment.
 ---pagebreak---                                     2-10
   A. Applications of genetic engineering
   Manufacture of effective totally non-virulent vaccines
   It is now possible, by means of gene cloning in bacteria or by the
   total synthesis of polypeptides, to produce antigens (principally
   viral) which possess effective vaccinal properties, and do not
   necessitate the maintenance of expensive cell cultures or entail any
   risk of the spread of living micro-organisms. Foot-and-mouth disease,
   rabies and intestinal corona viruses are examples of serious and
   highly contagious diseases in response to which this manufacturing
   strategy could be made rapidly operational within the Community.
   The production of monoclonal antibodies
   Monoclonal antibodies have the ability to eliminate the chemical
   substances whi eh stimulated their synthesis. They are formed by
   hybridomas (i.e. by laboratory-produced hybrid cells which combine
   the ability of a tumour to reproduce indefinitely with the capacity
   of a normal tissue to synthesize a given antibody). Monoclonal
   antibodies are already used in general serology for the purification
   of macromolecules,     cell- and blood-typing and the diagnosis of
   infectious diseases.. A community R&D effort could result in their
   being used in the near future for such purposes as immunization
   against viral or bacterial diseases, the manipulation of immune
    responses, the localization and identification of tumour cells and
   the treatment of auto-immune diseases, and cancers.
   Synthesis of nucleic acid probes
    DNA (or RNA) probes, which reproduce a definite sequence of genetic
    information capable of recognizing the same information and linking
   up with it,       offer the medical industries a vast range of
   applications. An enzyme, reverse transcriptase, which          enables
   genetic information to be reproduced from its product, has made it
    possible to isolate and clone such information and, as a result, to
   obtain polypeptides Cinsul in-growth hormone, etc •• ) whi eh are of
   enormous interest to the pharmaceutical sector.
4)
 ---pagebreak---                                  2-11
As regards preventive medicine, the probe method provides a more
effective means than antigen variance for the identification of
certain types of (viral or bacterial) attack to which the organism is
subject and, as a result, for the classification of the virulence of
the strains and their particular affinity for a given animal species
or category of individual. Community research will make it possible
to exploit the probe method more effectively and to apply it, in
particular, to the typology of numerous viruses or bacteria which
epidemiologists require for confirming their diagnoses.
B. Scientific instruments and medical equipment
The development of scientific instruments (particularly medical
electronics) and heavy medical equipment, which is already extremely
advanced in the United States,        can also make an important
contribution to preventive medicine. This development requires an
extensive electronics and data-processing infrastructure, whi eh is
lacking in Europe. Nuclear magnetic resonance Ca technique for the
selective visualization of organs or the external measurement of
their metabolism based on their chemical properties rather than their
opacity to X-rays) provides a good example of a revolutionary
diagnostic tool mainly developed in Europe (UK) which has been
exploited on a large scale in the US and Japan. In this field as in
many others (help for hemiplegics, treatment of deafness and eye
trouble, patient monitoring, interpretation of radiographs, etc •• )
there is a need to combine the considerable breakthroughs made in
electronics and data processing with the advances achieved in the
technology applied to the living being. In this instance also the
scale of the task to be accomplished makes a Community response the
only viable option.
In the case of both genetic engineering applications and medical
instrumentation it appears that Europe's backwardness cannot be
attributed to a lack of ingenuity on the part of its research workers
but that it is mainly due to the fragmentation and isolation of their
activities and the compartmentalization which too frequently
separates university research from industrial application.        The
critical scale required for breakthroughs in preventive medicine can
 ---pagebreak---                                  2-12
only be achieved through a pooling of resources and infrastructures
in the Member States and Community efforts to ensure that they are
used in a systematic and rational manner.
 ---pagebreak---  3. NEW MATERIALS
 Materials take pride of place in all technological achievements,
 since they generally constitute a sticking point in technological
 progress.    Any nation or group of nations which were to lose mastery
 of this field would find itself in a state of dependence on other
 countries, not only for supplies of the materials themselves, but
also in terms of the technological achievements made possible by such
materials.
The future of such sectors as the motor or aviation industries, the
success of space programmes, the development of highly sophisticated
 kinematic robots, biotechnologies (using membrane technology, for
example), and the development of bio-compatible prostheses are all
dependent on progress in the materials field.
The failure of materials through fatigue or their deterioration
through corrosion costs Europe more than 200.000 mi LLion ECU each
year.     The deve Lopment of new types of po Lymers and of automated
Large-series production techniques, for example, would enable these
economic Losses to be reduced considerably.
The actual production of advanced or new materials is an important
economic activity.     The world market in ceramics, which is currently
worth more than US$ 400.000 million (of which a 60¾ share is held by
Japan) should increase to US $ 20.000 million over the next ten
years.     It is also estimated that, by the year 2000, there will be a
market of several tens of thousand mi LLion dol Lars in composite
materials and of between US $ 10.000 million and 20.000 million in
technical polymers.
There is a Long-standing tradition of materials development in
Europe, which still has excellent materials Laboratories and is in no
way inferior to its overseas competitors in terms of the calibre of
its research workers.      The annual budgets for materials R&D of all
the Member States put together are simi Lar to those of the United
States (with a Federal budget of US$ 1.000 million) or Japan (where·
the MITI's programme on new materials has a budget of US $ 5.400
million over ten years).      And yet,  European materials research is
constantly Losing ground:
 ---pagebreak---                                  3-2
- European laboratories have been greatly overtaken in the new
   materials openings that have emerged over the last 20 years;
- the major avant-garde inventions in the advanced materials field,
   such as amorphous metals, memory alloys, electricity-conducting
   polymers, carbon fibres, etc. have been made in the United States
   and Japan.
   Nevertheless, European researchers publish extensively, but seem to
   take no interest in technological transfer:
- three out of four patents concerning new materials are filed by
   American or Japanese researchers;
- hundreds    of mill ions of dollars are spent each year either on
   straight  imports of new materials or semi-finished products into
   the EEC  or on manufacturing licences obtained from American and
   Japanese companies;
- thousands of jobs are thus lost each year to the European economy.
 This genuine technology gap in the materials field can be attributed
only to the structural weakness of European research (the Lack of
 coordination, the dispersion of efforts, duplication and the Lack of
 communication between administrations and industry in the Member
 States).
 Europe's innovation deficiency in the advanced materials field is
 naturally echoed by the lack of industrial investment in an area
 involving a degree of risk.
 In order to remedy this situation and create major innovations or
 facilitate emergence of new materials, it is necessary simultaneously
 to pursue two lines of development,        namely research aimed at
 constantly improving ~xisting or "advanced" materials and systematic
 broadbased fundamental research. The study of materials has made
 considerable advances in recent years as a result of the completion
 or the progress to project stage of large-scale scientific and
 technical instruments such as particle and radiation sources (see §5
 "Large-scale   scientific   instruments").  Widespread  use  of  these
 ---pagebreak---                                 3-3
 instruments on a European level should enable major advances to be
made in the field of materials. Research work must focus not only on
 improving the properties of materials, but also on production
processes, utilization techniques (bonding, shaping, etc •• ) and
testing methods. The categories of materials to be considered are
 sophisticated ceramics, advanced composite materials (metal, fibre,
etc •• > polymers (of the electricity-conducting type, for example),
new alloys, and organic molecules or proteins intended for the new
"biochips".
In this area, a more specific application could be considered, namely
chemical or biochemical sensors working· on a model of human
perceptive organs, which would be likely to have applications both in
medicine (diabetes, for example) and in industrial process control
 (see §2 "Biotechnologies">.
In connection with the field of materials a specific action on
superconductivity could be commenced. This technology is capable of
numerous applications: in addition to those at the research level
such as high-energy physics or fusion, more industrial applications
can be envisaged, in particular in transport (magnetic suspension
trains) and in the production and transmission of electrical energy
(alternators, cables). European industry has recognized skill in
metallurgy, metal fabrication and low temperature sciences and the
development of cryogenic systems at a competitive cost and of the
technology and a European production capacity for superconductor
magnets, on demand, could provide important outlets for such skills.
A coordinated programme dealing in particular with the development of
new superconductor materials (for example "A15" alloys and
niobium/tin) the cryogenic system itself (helium II) and the
techniques for the production of superconductor magnets capable of
bringing about significant progress in this field.
Another specific action in connection with the materials field could
be the study of an advanced aerospace propulsion system, such as a
ram-jet engine for hypersonic speeds. The development of such a
system with hydrogen as the fuel would represent a specific
scientific and technological challenge for the European scientific
and industrial community. The combination of work on materials, on
 ---pagebreak---                                3-4
combustion phenomena, on structures and on aerodynamics should ensure
an independent technological base for Europe, in particular in very
high speed commercial aviation. Once more the field could become the
centre of interest if the necessary attention were given both to the
problems of the market and to the constraints connected with the
protection of the environment.      It is clear that the European
aerospace industry is not itself capable of financing such a high
risk, long term project.
 ---pagebreak---                                  4-1
 4. LASERS AND OPTICS
 For centuries Europe had the monopoly of the development in optics
- both its theoretical development and the development of instruments
and components. However, over the most recent decades Europe has lost
this monopoly: many important developments and new applications have
been realized, mainly in the USA and to a certain extent in Japan.
But in certain sectors European industry is still exporting more than
it imports. The generally high level of training in optics and
connected fields coupled with the growing laser industry and the many
potential applications represent a valuable starting point for
 large-scale Community action aimed at facing up to foreign
competition and winning back some of the lost ground.
R&D aimed at the development of optics and, in particular,. lasers
could improve the competitiveness of a large number of economic
activities by improving conventional technology and introducing new
techniques. Some of these possibilities and certain R&D topics are
described below.
Industrial   lasers   (basically   Co 2 and Nd. Yag) for metalworking
(drilling, cutting, welding, deburring, surface treatment) currently
cost 50 to 200 dollars per Watt. Complete systems represent an
investment of anything from 100 000 to 1 million dollars. Although
the number of industrial lasers is increasing - in particular because
laser working offers a degree of accuracy and a flexibility
unequalled by conventional systems,         at least for non-metallic
materials - the cost of these systems must be reduced further and
higher yields must be obtained as well as better reliability and more
accuracy. Special solutions must be found for low-absorption metals
such as gold, silver, copper, brass and aluminium.
In chemistry, the development of selective laser photochemistry would
improve the competitiveness of small quantity manufacture. Isotopic
separation, the treatment of radioactive waste and chemical waste,
the synthesis of high-value chemical products and pharmaceutical
products of extremely high purity are other potential applications,
many of whi eh are a function of the development of lasers in the
ultra-violet range.
 ---pagebreak---                                4-2
In medicine, the use of lasers is increasing at almost an exponential
rate and, in certain cases, laser therapy has already shown its
superiority over conventional techniques. Developments could result
in fibre optical systems for illumination, imaging and surgery in
areas of the human body which are difficult to reach. In particular,
the development of a free-electron laser would seem to be
particularly suitable for medical applications by reason of its
comprehensive range of frequencies, its high power density and its
capacity for dimensional control of the beam and its impulse length.
New developments in lasers could considerably extend their role in
fields where they are already well-used, such as telecommunications,
in the precise and remote measurement of dimension, shapes, speed and
acceleration, and in non-destructive testing.
Finally, in the field of energy, and outside the use made in
thermonuclear research for inertia confinement the development of
extremely powerful lasers could result in studies in parallel with
the development of extremely large mirrors for future long di stance
cable-less    electrical   energy   transmission    systems  in   the
underdeveloped nations of Africa and South America.
Many of these applications depend on the development of materials,
components and techniques such as materials with a refraction index
gradient;    optical materials with high infra-red quality (at
wavelength of the co 2 laser); techniques for cathodic pulverization
 (sputtering) for better surface coating adherence;           optical
manufacturing processes for semiconductors materials ; holographic
components with special functions,       including the creation of
computer-generated holograms; non-linear optical effect materials for
the manufacture of optical processors; optical quality plastics;
production techniques for aspherical elements, etc.
No doubt the economic impact will be considerable. The added value in
the optical industry ·(in particular lasers and optical instruments)
amounted to approximately 2 700 million dollars in the United States
in 1981. All the market indicators predict considerable growth. The
market envisaged in the United States for civil lasers should grow
from US$ 210 mill ion in 1982 to US$ 1 600 mill ion in 1995. It is
 ---pagebreak---                                  4-3
  estimated that in Japan the market for Lasers, fibres, detectors and
  complete systems will grow from US$ 460 million in 1980 to US$ 65 000
  million in the year 2000.
  Such growth will obviously have effects on employment: in the United
  States, for example, employment in the optical industry grew by about
. 20¾ in the 1978 to 1982 period.
  Although the examples quoted above are not fully up-to-date and refer
  only to the situation in the United States, it is clear that the
  optical field is one of extremely high technological growth, which is
  capable of improving the quality of life, industrial competitiveness
  and employment.
  Two major projects could be envisaged :
 - the development of a continuous co _ laser of around 50 kW within
                                         2
    five years could be undertaken at Community level, the emphasis
    being on problems (cost, reliability, beam transport system, energy
    efficiency and power control, ways of machining reflecting metals
    such as aluminium, gold, copper) in the industrial use of this
    laser for machining and surface treatment of metal and other
    materials. In the future it could also be used for other purposes
    such as energy transmission between the earth and satellites or
    even defence in space.
 - A second line of development could be lasers emitting at short
    wavelengths (far UV or even X-ray). The most promising solution is
    the excimer laser which because of the great variety of the laser
    medium can generate a wide range of wavelengths suitable for
    selective photochemistry        isotope separation,   synthesis of
    extremely pure pharmaceutical and chemical products, manufacture of
    integrated circuits (lithography, deposition of dielectric films).
    One objective could be to produce a laser emitting 1 kW at a
    wavelength below 200 nm within five years.
 Alongside these specific efforts,        research into materials, for
 example for optical elements, windows and the coatings suitable for
  laser wavelengths, production techniques, for example, aspherical
 elements or coatings, and the development of components should be
 actively pursued.
 ---pagebreak---                                4-4
Clearly, the work proposed in both the optical field and, in certain
cases, the laser field would have spin-off in the field of earth-
observation systems mentioned in point 2.6 above.
 ---pagebreak---                                      5-1
5. LARGE-SCALE SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS
     PARTICLE AND RADIATION SOURCES
     Over the last 30 years our knowledge of the ultimate components of
     matter and the forces which link them to each other has made
     considerable progress.      This has been made possibi le by the
     implementation of more and more powerful accelerators and collision
     rings. However, the results of research on the unified theory of
     forces, kept as simple as possible and based on a reduced number of
     particles and forces,     can only be confirmed by experiments in
     enormous rings several kilometres in diameter. These require funds on
     a scale only achievable at a European level and developed and cross
     fertilized by techniques in all the advanced technological fields
     (materials, superconductor magnets, vacuum technology, etc).
     Also included in this same category of equipment are the large
     synchrotrons intended for the production of intense light beams
     generated by particle acceleration (electrons) under the effect of
     external magnetic fields. The light produced is suitable for many
     applications both in research and industry (the study of surfaces,
     spectrometry, catalysis, difraction, x-ray lithography, etc).
     Large-scale accelerators, like all the other major apparatus managed
    under the auspices of a number of countries, makes a considerable
     contribution to bringing together the scientific community of all the
     participating countries.    In addition, the sheer size of these
     projects, as well as the importance and novelty of the discoveries
    they allow helps to regenerate confidence in the destiny of Europe
    and in its capacity to take its proper place in the world by means of
    an increasing joint use of its human and material resources.
    On a more immediate and concrete level, the construction and
    implementation of a major synchrotron light generator would have
    important socio-economic spin-off, in particular with relation to
    industrial applications of this radiation and the multidisciplinary
    nature of such applications, which would make this installation a
    place for the convergence and mutual fertilization of almost all the
    industrial research fields in chemistry (reaction kinetics,
    applications of photochemistry, product analysis, etc), in the field
 ---pagebreak---                               5-2
of materials (study and monitoring of their structure, the various
phases in their preparation, their surface properties, etc) and in
the field of biotechnology· (structure of complex molecules,
biochemistry, monitoring and analysis of products, etc).
ADVANCED WIND TUNNELS
The development of aeronautics requires the use of advanced wind
tunnels which simulate flight conditions in the subsonic, trans-sonic
and hypersonic regimes. These installations are indispensable for the
development of new aircraft and engine units. Having an advanced
aerodynamics wind tunnel at the European level is a necessary
condition for Europe's competitive position in the aeronautics field
to be conserved. In addition, studies should be carried out on
"numerical wind tunnels" which are in fact three-dimensional
simulators which require computing power of a Level which should be
achieved at the beginning of the 1990's. These numerical wind tunnels
will enable mathematical models to be constructed of the aerodynamic
flow round complex-geometry obstacles, and this is crucial for the
development of future highly-integrated propulsion unit and
structural configurations.     Such simulations would enable a
considerable reduction to be made in the increasing number of hours
in the wind tunnel which could otherwise rapidly become prohibitive.
 ---pagebreak---                                     6-1
6. BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
1. The convergence of telecommunications,           data processing and
   audiovisual systems will modify the nature of telecommunications,
   upgrade the use of data-processing equipment (computerized data-
   processing) and considerably expand the range of services available
   both to enterprises and individuals.
   Total investment in telecommunications within the Community over the
   next 15 years is estimated at between one half and one million Mecu
    (SOO.ODO - 1·.000.000 mill ion ECU). This investment should primari Ly
   cover the replacement of existing switching equipment and
   transmission lines by new products offering greater technical and
   economic advantages.
   These investments and associated services will have a direct impact
   on employment.      The establishment of "data motorways" will make
   concrete the development and investment potential of the terminals
   and new services sector and help to stimulate employment based on the
   provision of equipment for the electronics industries and the
   creation of new industrial services.       By resolutely progressing as
   regards the "costs and performance" of advanced telecommunications
   services,    the Community will become more attractive from the
   standpoint of the introduction of new economic activities or the
   revival of activities.
   Emphasis should therfore be given to the improvement of the quality-
   price ratio of telecommunications equipment and services, and to the
   provision of advanced services at acceptable costs to the user. This
   will have a favourable effect on traffic, thereby guaranteeing
   operators satisfactory conditions for the recoupment of their
   investments.
   The development of these sectors will be conditioned by progress made
   in    the   fields    of   microelectronics,    optoelectronics,    and
   communications software.        Achievement of such progress will
   necessitate considerable efforts aimed both at the establishment of
   advanced information-transmission infrastructures and also at the
   development of terminal equipment, services and new applications.
 ---pagebreak---                                   6-2
2. From    the    technological    standpoint,     the    evolution    of
   telecommunications systems can be said to be dominated, on the one
   hand, by the generalized use of digital rather than analog signals
   and, on the other hand, by the introduction of optical media to
   replace the purely electronic means of transmitting and controlling
   these signals.
   The transitions from electronics to optics offers considerable
   advantages for the different key telecommunications operations : i.e.
   transmission, switching, processing and storage of signals. The
   technology of optical signals transmission is already comparatively
   advanced Cat least in the fibre optics sector), although the other
   functions are still at the preliminary stage of laboratory
   development.
   In theory, optical switching, signals processing and storage should
   be fare more efficient than the corresponding electronics-based
   operations. This is because of the considerable advantage offered by
    light as regards speed, mobility and wavelength compared with
   electrons.    A one-centimetre square optical switching system is
   capable of processing 10 million independent light beams and
   switching each in less than 30 picoseconds. In principle, an optical
   processor of the same size could handle three hundred thousand
   gigabits/second, a figure corresponding to the traffic which would be
   generated by a videophone conversation between the two halves of
   humanity.
    In the medium and long-term, optical techniques offer the prospect of
   achieving performance/ cost ratios whi eh will make it possible to
   provide advanced (broadband) telecommunications services at rates
   equivalent to presen-day telephone charges and therefore acceptable
   to the majority of the population.
3. Execution of the following development projects could be considered :
 ---pagebreak---                                    6-3
   a. Optical telecommunications processor
       This processor is the central element around which the entire
      optical communications system will be built.           Its principal
       functions are :
      - input/output (multiplexing, demultiplexing, signals recognition
         and conversion, signals transmission and reception, etc.) ;
      - switching;
      - control (signal processing,         traffic management,     systems
         maintenance and monitoring) ;
      - interaction with operators and the environment.
      These operations will be executed/monitored using high-performance
      software backed up by advanced,          widely distributed systems
      architectures.
      Estimated resources required     1500 man/years over 10 years.
   b. Miniaturized radiotelephony
      Mobility and accesibility are two of the kew factors in the
      evolution of communications. Ultra-light personal terminals will
      constitute the essential elements of such progress in the context
      of public cellular radio. These developments will call for major
      efforts orientated towards the introduction of :
      - low-power miniature radio transmitter/receivers;
      - high-density cellular radio systems;
      - a flexible frequency and traffic management method.
      Estimated resources required     400 man/years over 5 years.
4. The initiation of technological development projects with a view to
   the introduction of broadband integrated communications systems meets
   all the distinguishing criteria of _a major European project offering
   widespread economic and social advantages.         - It will stimulate
   technological    progress   in   various     key   areas   (particularly
   microelectronics and optoelectronics).      It will also give rise to a
   number of applications, enjoy considerable support from industry and
   enable Links to be established with existing programmes (e.g. ESPRIT,
   national programmes such as ALVEY,      the French electronics network
 ---pagebreak---                                6-4
programme and the Federal German microelectronics and information and
communications technology programmes). Lastly, it will contribute to
the attainment of the Community's regional development objectives and
to the creation of jobs and the growth of exports.
 ---pagebreak---                                 7-1
 7. NEW GENERATION TRANSPORT MODES
 The main requirements place on future transport models will be
 safety, environmental protection, speed and energy saving.
The new information and CIM technologies,          together with the
development of new materials and base technologies, should be able to
 help reconcile these principal needs.
Speed Clinked with safety and environmental protection) should
 related first and foremost to both supersonic air transport (see the
section on new materials) and high-speed rail transport.
The safety, environmental protection and energy-saving aspects would
be of prime concern to road transport in order drastically to reduce
the number of collisions,         atmospheric pollution and energy
consumption in the ten years ahead. Significant progress, based on
new technologies, could also be made in urban transport.
In the field of road-transport safety and comfort, for ex amp le, a
priming project should be devoted to the development of a satellite
assisted navigation system having the advantage, from an industrial
standpoint, of complexity. This aspect would have a knock-on effect
on a large number of upstream sectors, since it involves the
development of digital road maps (high-definition, compact VDU screen
technologies, the provision of digital radio links with fixed
receivers,    and improvements to signal accuracy (the civilian
navigation systems currently available are accurate to 100 metres,
which is inadequate for drivers of road vehicles, even on spacious
motorways). Moreover, a project of this type would have multiple
repercussions on other areas of application (management of a fleet of
transport vehicles, automation of agricultural machinery etc.). A
project of this type would require 12 months of specification
definition, two years of parallel feasibility studies covering two or
three possible options, and three to four years of pre-industrial
development of the options selected at the end of phase 2. The
 ---pagebreak---                                   7-2
  definition phase would require 30 man/years. The volume of work in
  the subsequent phases would depend upon the specifications arising
  from Phase 1.
  A second priming project in the field of road safety could examine
  the feasibility of an automated motorway transport system. Its aim,
  which would be wider than its predecessor as regards the financial
  commitments needed and its possible impact, would be the development
  of a full-scale prototype automated motorway. The work involved would
  thus be :
  - system design
· - the development of devices providing overall control of automated
     vehicle flows
  - the development of access and regulation systems (in the event of
     accidents or unforeseen breakdowns)
  - the development of on-board control units
  - solution of the problems involved in adapting conventional vehicles
     to automated movement conditions.
  Projects of this type are naturally ambitious and costly but, apart
  from the fact that it is possible to derive benefit from the research
  and practical work on the automation of rail and urban transport (in
  which Europe is very advanced),        account must be taken of its
  considerable impact on improving safety and the overall efficiency of
   road transport.
  This second project would need to be spread over a longer period of 8
  to 10 years. It would comprise:
  - an 18-month definition phase
     a three-year feasibility phase, in which groups of companies and
     public and private institutions (transport research institutes,
     road-safety   agencies,      vehicle    manufacturers,   equipment
     manufacturers etc.) would compete with each other
  - a four to five year experiment under real-life conditions,
     (development and installation of equipment, trials, tests and
     conclusions).
 ---pagebreak---                                7-3
The definition phase would require roughly 200 man/years. Any work
done in this sector would be greatly attractive both socially and
politically and would spur technological development. It would thus
have a positive effect on, in particular, the vehicle and vehicle-
related industries and would help to boost the electronics industry,
which would also need to become involved.
 ---pagebreak---                          8-1
8. USE OF SPACE
Brought on by the American military programmes, the accelerated
development of new detection systems CIR,        visible, microwave)
associated with on-board systems for real-time processing and
analysis of received signals will be accompanied by increasing
restrictions on the transfer of technology in what is a highly
sensitive area.
Unless Europe accelerates its own development of on-board sensors and
of processing and analysis systems, it will fall further and further
behind as far as earth observation is concerned.
Earth observation techniques provide extremely important data for
numerous sectors:    protection of the environment,      climatology,
meteorology, oceanography, hydrology, agriculture (forecasting of
harvesting patterns), raw materials (through geology), transport,
fishing and development aid.
Not only will such data permit more effective implementation of
Community policies in all these sectors, but in a sensitive area such
as agriculture, Europe cannot afford to be without the data that
would be available to its competitors.
Space is the ideal setting for transnational research with spin-offs
in areas of common interest (joint policies) calling for public
funding, having a mobilizing effect and providing opportunities for
cooperation with non-member states.
The decisions taken by the European Space Agency in January are
intended to increase Europe's autonomy as regards space exploitation
 (earth observation, telecommunications, microgravity, space-related
science and technology) and to maintain independence as regards
 launching systems (Ariane programme).
In order to develop these techniques at European level, one might
consider an integrated system of observation and telecommunications
satellites, making use of those generations of satellite already in
existence such as SPOT (France) or ERS-1 CESA), and new developments
 ---pagebreak---                                 8-2
 such as a large man-tended polar earth-observation platform.      The
 latter is currently under discussion in the context of Europe's
 participation in the American space station programme.
 Furthermore, apart from their key role in the development of an
 intra-Community wideband communications network, telecommunications
 satellites will be needed to channel data from earth-observation
 satellites to the analysis centres.
 Radioastronomy using long baseline interferometry has been developed
considerably on earth (e.g. Nan~ay, Cambridge) and has furthered
exploration of the universe. If an interferometer of this type could
be put into orbit around the earth, it would be possible to overcome
certain constraints such as radio noise or the limitations associated
with basic physical dimensions.          It would call for advanced
techniques for assembling structures in space and highly accurate
pointing of antennae in orbit.
By analogy, it is also possible to envisage the sending into orbit of
an optical interferometer, which would in addition require the
development of new optical techniques (mirrors and detectors in
conjunction - see §4 - Lasers and optics). Interferometer techniques
would certainly involve an element of international cooperation with
the United States and the Soviet Union in respect of observations.
Pending an opportunity to take part in the development of a space
station that should be put into orbit in 1992, Europe has already
been able, thanks to Spacelab, to carry out experiments on materials
manufacture in space.     From 1988 onwards,     it will be able to
participate in long-term (six-month) space missions using the
European Retrievable Carrier. Action is proposed in order to provide
coordination back-up for the industries that might be interested in
production in space (pharmaceuticals, crystals, biological processes,
etc.), thus enabling them to acquire greater knowledge of the
available opportunities.
Likewise, the aims of a European technological programme are also
covered by the European space programme. The development of the
Hermes manned space vehicle,        with its different technological
challenges, should therefore be actively encouraged, together with
 ---pagebreak---                                   8-3
  any work to further the major political objective that has been set
  of maing Europe fully independent in the manned exploitation of
  space.
  The main aims of action relating to production in space should be
  - to increase industry's knowledge of the utilisation of techniques
     for the manufacture and improvement of products in microgravity and
     hard-vacuum conditions;
     to promote the earliest possible use of production in space through
     pilot experiments that pave the way for industrial-scale
     operations.
  These objectives could be attained through :
  - the overall coordination of a prospective user community;
  - the identification of the candidate industries which have hitherto
     not been associated with the European space programme, but could be
     involved in the new activities that are becoming possible;
  - the classification and, in associ~tion with the competent European
     space authorities, development and implantation of typi ea l pi lot
     experiments.
, A first step would be
  - to convene, in association with the ESA and the space industry, a
     meeting of the prospective user industries, and then draw up an
     indicative work programme that would lead to flight-experience
     opportunities for those industries.
   This could be supplemented by :
  - the publication of a notice aimed at the industries that might be
     interested in experimental opportunities ; the selection of an
     initial list of pilot experiments that could be financed in full ;
     and the establishment of a second list of experiments that could be
     financed on a cost-sharing basis.
   A schedule of costs can be drawn up,            ranging between the
   comparatively minor expenses involved in the identification and
   coordination of the industries that might be interested in such
   projects and specific allocations for the typical experiments. In the
 ---pagebreak---                                8-4
latter case, a cost of nearly 50 million ECU can be envisaged. At all
event, the programme would proceed in phases, the first of which
would involve approaches to industry, followed by th identification
and development of the pilot experiments and finally the execution of
the experiments in orbit.
 ---pagebreak---                                9-1
9. CONQUEST OF THE MARIN ENVIRONMENT AND EXPLORATION OF THE EARTH'S
   CRUST
MARINE ENVIRONMENT
Europe, with some 10.000 kilometres of coastline and almost two
million square kilometres of continental shelf, can play a leading
role in the conquest of the marine environment and exploit its
resources provided that it takes a broad view of its action and
formulates a plan capable of mobilizing its research and development
capacity to the full.
The implementation of such a plan requires that considerable
technical difficulties be overcome.   It is from the work involved in
surmounting these difficulties that technological spin-off can be
expected.    The conquest of the sea implies a challenge, in sectors
which are already expanding rapidly (electronics, telecommunications
and robotics), and other areas such as chemistry, biology and
materials science, metallurgy and very high pressure technology.
The plan could be an opportunity to increase our basic knowledge,
establishing a range of new targets,        and develop a host of
technologies which could come up trumps for Europe in the long term.
The present position of oceanographic science and technology in
Europe is favourably comparable to that in other nations, in contrast
to the situation prevailing in other areas of advanced technology
where our competitors' lead makes for an unequal struggle.      Europe
can assume leadership in this promising field, develop the support
technologies extensively and benefit from the resulting industrial
spin-off within a few years, by choosing the exploitation of the
marine environment as one of Europe's elements of technological
ambition:    and all this without excluding any other strategic
applications.
A major objective would be to develop the capability for sustained
physical presence of man in the seas and on the ocean floor.
 ---pagebreak---                                9-2
A key element of the enterprise can be found in the design and
construction of modular self-propelled vessels for use as shelters,
for deep-water exploration and for work with the intention of
developing accommodation capacities and diving depth in stages.
Two fields of application from which European industry could benefit
extensively are deep drilling and robot machine development       deep
drilling for geological exploration and the exploitation of gas and
oil resources; development of robot machines for various tasks such
as exploration for and exploitation of resources on the sea-bed or
just below it or the inspection and maintenance of drilling
equipment, pipelines and cables.
This stage of the analysis will be confined to technologies
possessing the greatest potential for applications and growth, those
most suitable for reinforcing existing skills or for plugging
technological gaps, which, although in themselves representing a
substantial turnover, constitute an essential condition for the
existence of much greater turnovers downstream and are hence of a
special strategic nature.
STUDY OF THE EARTH'S CONTINENTAL CRUST
For some years earth science specialists have been aware of the
paradox that while great advances have been made since 1968 in
knowledge of the oceanic crust as a result of the Deep Sea Drilling
Project,   relatively little is known as yet about the earth's
continental crust.
What results can be expected        from programmes to survey the
continental crust ? Essentially,     a better knowledge of structures,
materials and fluids and a number  of longer-term practical benefits.
More specifically:
1. From a scientific point of view they will provide more information
   on :
   - the structure and composition of basement rock, deep sedimentary
     basins and fold systems;
 ---pagebreak---                                 9-3
      the nature and geometry of major intracrustal discontinuities
      (large-scale thrust faults);
   - the nature and depth of the Mohorovicic discontinuity between
      the crust and the mantle within the Lithosphere;
   - the physical properties of rocks; distribution and effects of
      stresses at depth;
   - the study of fluid phases, their origin and circulation and
      their role in petrogenic and dynamic processes.
2. The practical benefits will be in the fields of:
   - metallogenics and mineral deposits; development of magma systems
      (granitic domes), hydrothermalism at depth, monitoring the
      structure of mineral concentrations;
   -  geothermal energy, hydrocarbon prospecting (deep basins),  .. ,
   -  earthquake mechanisms and earthquake prevention;
   -  storage of nuclear waste;
   -  design and manufacture of drilling equipment suited to the
      extreme conditions encountered in deep drilling.
Existing Programmes
1. Major national reflection shooting programmes :       DEKORP in the
    Federal Republic of Germany, ECORS in France, BIRPS in the United
   Kingdom, COCORP in the U.S.A., and so on. The aim of these
   programmes is to identify structures up to depths of around 50 km.
    Some bilateral cooperation exists.
   The international European Geotraverse programme, implemented
    under the auspices of the European Science Foundation, pursues
    similar objectives.
2. Deep borehole programmes :
   - "ultra-deep" boreholes · (10 to 15 km)       Ko La in the USSR, a
      drilling project in the Appalachians (U.S.A.) and the KTB
       project in the Federal Republic;
    - medium-depth boreholes (1 to 5 km)     deep geology programme in
       France, which actually started up during Last Winter, and
       boreholes of a similar depth in the West of the U.S.A ••
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 These boreholes can provide samples for direct analysis as well as an
 opportunity for all kinds of in situ geological and geochemical
 measurements in the boreholes. They are proving essential as a means
 of verifying and clarifying the information obtained from large-scale
 seismic profiling Can example being the Kola drilling project, where
the initial assumptions were proved wrong).
 International Cooperation: Aims and Prospects
Although promoters    of the   various programmes   listed above have
contacts with each other, genuine international cooperation - which
is advocated by most specialists - has yet to materialize. Potential
subjects for such cooperation would include:
- joint studies of deep structures involving two or more countries;
- development of methods and instruments for geophysical, geochemical
   and hydrological measurements and for drilling boreholes;
- making samples from deep boreholes available to European
   laboratories;
- setting up of proper permanent laboratories for the study of the
   earth's crust <"crust labs" on the lines of the "space labs").
The potential benefits of cooperation in these fields are
considerable. In addition to the anticipated scientific, technical
and economic spin-offs, it can also provide an opportunity for in-
depth dialogue between specialists (such as geologists and
geophysicists), who up to now have had few such opportunities.
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10. EDUCATION AND TRAINING TECHNOLOGY
If it is to remain in control of its economic and political future,
the Community must re-think and step up its efforts in the field of
education and training. In order to compensate for the limited
natural resources (energy, minerals) in Europe, one must develop
human and technological resources. Although in their various forms
the latter account for almost 7% of the Member States' GNP, the
demand is increasing and is being met only in part at present.    Not
only is the range of knowledge and specialists increasing constantly,
but in numerous sectors the demand for specialists is growing all the
time.
Consequently, there is now demand for:
  a greater variety of courses in order to meet specialized and
  interdisciplinary requirements,
- better access to sducation and training, making them available, for
  example, when and where they are required and not only at certain
  stages in an individual's life and in specific places,
- better adaptation to pupils' specific needs.
It is important to meet these needs in order to improve educational
and training performance in the traditional sense, but it is also
essential to do so in order to meet the growing demand for continuing
education and training among the active population.      The mismatch
between requirements and available capacity is one of the causes of
the structural unemployment that is emerging during this period of
technological development.
The traditional approaches to education and training have made it
difficult to remedy t~e mismatch. However, progress in the fields of
information and telecommunications technology offers the opportunity
of adopting a fresh approach, characterized by greater flexibility
and more accessible and improved economic conditions.
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 This area is generally known as education technology. It will not be
 sufficient, however, to combine data-processing, telecommunications
 and .television to broadcast the type of programmes covered at
 present, for example, by the Open University of U.K. The development
 of education will make it possible to realize completely the
 potential offered by the new technologies and will call for very
 great efforts to be made over a long period.
 The proposed type of  education should enable all levels of personnel
 to be suited to the    changing needs within their organisations and
 environments in such  a way that relevant education would become an
 integral and coherent  part of professional activities.
The technological input required to develop the necessary educational
 instruments and equipment would be free of any specific cultural
associations and could be largely independent of language and
discipline.
Education-related projects would meet important social and economic
needs, stimulate research and technological development in large
sectors and help to increase the number of skilled workers available
on the labour market. The resulting products and services:
- would offer opportunities for exporting equipment and software,
- would stimulate job creation in industry and the service sector,
- would offer fresh opportunities in relation to the educational
   requirements of the developing countries.
In this field, one mobilizing project should be devoted to the
development of European learning capacities for the benefit of
advanced technologies. This project should involve in particular:
- the development of information tools and computer languages
specifically for educational purposes;
- the development of microknowledge models;
- the development of artificial intelligence techniques for education
and training;
- the development of sub-function integrated circuits.
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The introduction of such a project would require between five and
seven years and a research and development investment the equivalent
of 500 man/years over the time-span of the project.