Date of release : 03-06-2005

Policy area : Competitiveness (Internal market, Industry and Research) Competitiveness (Internal market, Industry and Research)

Event : Competitiveness Council

The session dedicated to the "Research" component of the "Competitiveness" Council of the European Union will be held on 7 June 2005 in Luxembourg and will be chaired by Luxembourg’s Minister for Culture, Higher Education and Research, François Biltgen, and attended by Luxembourg’s Secretary of State for Culture, Higher Education and Research, Octavie Modert.

The Ministers will have an orientation debate on the proposal for the 7^th European Community Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 – 2013). The discussions will highlight aspects related to collaborative research and human resources. The proposal for the next Framework Programme for research and technological development continues along the same lines as the 6^th Framework Programme, still in effect, while introducing new elements to better respond to current requirements at the community level. Therefore, the European Commission has introduced changes in an attempt to rationalise the administrative and financial procedures and to streamline programme operations. The total proposal budget in the area of research for the 2007-2013 period is € 73.215 billion.

The Council will also take note of the information provided by European Commissioner for Science and Research, Janez Potocnik, on the status of international negotiations to build and operate the international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER) and on the implementation of the schedule for doing so.

The second "Space" Council will be held in the afternoon, when the Ministers for space affairs of the European Union’s Member States and the European Space Agency (ESA) will debate essential policies with regards to the preparation of the future European space programme, scheduled to be adopted in late 2005.