The European Parliament,

-  having regard to the Commission communication (COM(2000) 6 - C5-0115/2000 ),

-  having regard to European Parliament and Council Decision No 182/1999/EC of 22 December 1998 on the fifth framework programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (1998 to 2002)(1) ,

-  having regard to its resolution of 17 February 1998 on the 1997 annual report on the research and technological development activities of the European Union (COM(1997) 373 - C4-0435/1997 )(2) ,

-  having regard to its resolution of 12 June 1997 on the development and application of new information and communications technologies (ICT) in the next decade(3) ,

-  having regard to its resolution of 28 November 1996 on prospects for European science and technology policy in the 21st century (4) ,

-  having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

-  having regard to the report of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy and the opinions of the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market (A5-0131/2000 ),

A.  whereas a more integrated European scientific community is essential if research and innovation are to be stimulated,

B.  whereas research not only provides fresh knowledge but is also a productive force,

C.  whereas a prosperous Europe requires, and will be marked by, a large and active research community with a substantial output of successful research, especially but not only in such areas as high technology, health sciences, environmental sciences and biotechnology

D.  whereas the value of research in such other disciplines as Engineering, Management, the Economic and Social Sciences and the Humanities must not be neglected in this context;

E.  whereas a better understanding of research and innovation needs to be fostered among the members of the general public (the citizens),

F.  whereas there is a need both for increased expenditure on, and also for enhanced co-ordination and coherence in, European research to increase competitiveness;

G.  whereas research efforts account for an average of 1.8% of GDP in the EU, compared to 2.8% in the USA and 2.9% in Japan and whereas some Member States and regions of the EU invest a far larger proportion of GDP in research, which has led to considerable discrepancy between Member States,

H.  whereas the gap between total expenditure on government and private research in America and Europe widened from EUR 12bn in 1992 to about EUR 60bn in 1998,

I.  whereas in some EU countries at least unemployment among young researchers has attained explosive dimensions, thereby leaving a valuable human potential untapped,

J.  whereas research and technology account for 25 to 50% of economic growth and are major determinants of competitiveness and employment and of the quality of life of the people of Europe,

K.  whereas it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between basic and applied research, since more and more basic research is geared to possible applications; maintenance of high-quality fundamental research is required both for the sake of its contribution to human knowledge and because it is essential if Europe is to retain its own best researchers and to be attractive to researchers from outside the Union,

L.  whereas research in Europe is fragmented and divided into national research systems and measures to promote and develop a common research area are urgently needed,

M.  whereas there is an urgent need to increase scientific and technical support to various community policies,

N.  whereas the European Research Area foresees the establishment of a common system of scientific and technical reference by aligning methods, harmonising procedures and comparing results; such a system should be established with the help of the Joint Research Centre and should rely on the competence of Centres of Excellence in the Member States through appropriate networks to be organised with the support of the JRC,

O.  whereas the Commission shall foresee in the future FP 6 the appropriate arrangements (including financial ones and access to results) to ensure the efficiency and reliability of this common system of reference and its networks,

P.  whereas the growth in knowledge in the field of life sciences and information and communication technologies is being accompanied by the emergence of a growing number of new ethical questions and the way in which these are dealt with will influence the prospects for scientific and technological development in Europe,

Q.  whereas the European research area offers an excellent opportunity to develop the vital synergy between research and Community policies, particularly if the results of the former are made available to the latter,

R.  whereas many recent problems or crises have illustrated the ever-increasing scientific needs of Community policies and the shortcomings of the present system in meeting those needs,

S.  whereas the Joint Research Centres should form an integral part of the European research area,

T.  whereas the European Union suffers from a serious lack of post-graduate students and of scientists employed by industry in comparison to the United States and Japan and whereas 50 % of the Europeans awarded doctorates in the US remain there for some considerable time and sometimes forever,

U.  whereas the framework programme of research and development, despite being the main item of expenditure among the EU's internal policies, has not succeeded in promoting genuine European research because of the inadequacy of the resources available and the cumbersome nature of the administrative procedures involved,

V.  whereas at present two-thirds of research and development activities in the European Union are carried out by industry,

W.  whereas a European Research Area could lead to a concentration of research facilities to the detriment of peripheral areas,

1.  Welcomes the Commission's communication "Towards a European research area" as the starting point for a far-reaching political and scientific debate on the creation of a real European research and innovation community and suggests that, in addition to the steps already taken by the Commission, good use should be made of the results that will be obtained by the IPTS-JRC, for example through its 'Future Projects' Initiative;

2.  Believes that European research will be at its most efficient if there is a joint European research area in which joint action is taken to define joint objectives and to make the best possible use of resources to achieve these objectives, with due regard for the subsidiarity principle and with a view to achieving substantial European added value; observes that these joint European research efforts must not stand in the way of the pursuit of competing research programmes by the Member States;

3.  Calls on the Member States to set a target of at least 3% of their GDP to research;

4.  Believes that the European Union and the Member States must create conditions for better access of enterprises to research results and to be able to convert them into innovations, which may eventually make a greater contribution to the growth of prosperity, safety, competitiveness, employment and the strengthening of the overall European market;

5.  Points out that there are unnecessary legal obstacles to exploiting European research, one of which is the difficulty and cost of establishing patents; the Commission should take determined action with a view to legislating for the creation of a European patent regime;

6.  Notes that other obstacles include continuing failure in mutual recognition of diplomas and professional qualifications, uncertainty and lack of coherence in provisions about the status and security of those engaged in research careers, and the absence of encouragement for, or a European statute enabling, the creation of "seed-corn" companies to develop industrial applications of research findings;

7.  Emphasises that European assistance for R&D must not only help the European Union to achieve a stronger competitive position, but R&D must contribute to the growth in knowledge and learning to improve the environment, health, employment, prosperity, support EU policies and answer the concerns of the citizens;

8.  Stresses that the goal of European research must be to strengthen the scientific and technical foundations of other Community policies and, with this in view, welcomes the fact that the Commission is providing for the creation of a 'common system of scientific and technical reference' for the implementation of Community policies; urges the Commission to make provision in the future framework programme for all necessary measures, particularly in the financial field, to ensure the smooth functioning of this system which, with the support of the JRC, which is responsible for this task, should enjoy the assistance of networks comprising the most effective national bodies; with this in view, calls on the Commission to ensure that the common reference system and the networks making it up can make use of Community research findings that are helpful for implementing EU policies via the JRC;

9.  Calls on the Member States not to regard national research programmes solely as programmes intended primarily to strengthen their own economies but as programmes for promoting economic growth, competitiveness, employment and cohesion throughout the European Union; by, furthermore, operating at EU level with research programmes rather than relatively small projects in a wide range of subfields, greater coordination of research work will be fostered; this will promote economies of scale, improve competitiveness within the European Union and stimulate employment and thus the need to go on innovating, which, at macroeconomic level, may result in yet more employment and economic growth;

10.  States that the Commission's commitment to the principle of subsidiarity "in its broadest sense" as stated in paragraph 5.1 of the Communication is much to be welcomed; the role of regions as well as member states, and of private industry as well as government is indeed important; but, beyond that, researchers and research teams adequately supported on the basis of competitive and peer-reviewed systems for research finance are the ground level of the European research effort;

11.  Estimates that the simultaneous use of all official European languages, which constitutes both an inheritance of the past and a very positive element in the maintenance of a cultural diversity which is one of the trademarks of Europe, hinders globally the communicating process among European scientists, and should therefore justify European action favouring translations and communication endeavours;

12.  Recommends however that the Commission enhance means of exchange between research teams, use its powers to stimulate public and private funders of research at all level to better coordinate action at the Europe level;

13.  Considers that two-yearly reports of the Commission to the European Parliament would permit an adequate review of the decisions taken and of the results obtained;

14.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop a new approach to the Community's research efforts which focuses on objectives and the way in which these European objectives can be achieved in a global context, and therefore urges the Commission to make the sixth framework programme an effective means of achieving these objectives; cooperation must continue to be constantly stimulated in the newly established sixth framework programme; the framework programme should be conceived sufficiently flexibly to make it possible to respond rapidly and without substantial administrative involvement to new challenges (comparable to the BSE crisis, for example), through a process of self-organisation by European science; stresses that the planned establishment of a high-speed network to facilitate European research efforts should be regarded as entailing substantial European added value;

15.  Concludes that a "European Research Area" requires a highly important contribution to be made by the European Institutions, in particular the Commission, directed to encouraging enhancement of effort and improved coherence among diverse programmes at regional and member state level, but that the contribution of the institutions should remain quite tightly focussed on those objectives that can only be achieved at the all-Union level, and ancillary activities such as:

16.  Invites the Commission and the Member States to take steps to inform the European public better on the need for research and on the results that research has produced; information will help to improve the image of and to make the European research area more attractive, thus drawing more university graduates into European research in the future;

17.  Suggests the establishment of a permanent research field dealing with the question of the ethics of science and technology, with the specific aim of undertaking a comparative study of the laws and ethical criteria governing the research programmes of the EU Member States and the industrialised countries in general, with a view to encouraging the development of a coherent and common approach to these issues;

18.  Urges the Commission and the Member States to develop policy which focuses not on technical research infrastructure or cooperation between existing and new institutes but on the objectives of research and innovation, the employment of researchers in the most efficient manner possible, an increase in the mobility of researchers, especially young ones, the promotion of the research climate in Europe, through which more researchers from inside and outside Europe may be attracted to the European research area, the improvement of researchers" salaries, the improvement of training for graduates including language training in widely-used languages and the improvement of the participation of women in scientific research; the sixth framework programme should make an effective contribution in this respect;

19.  Calls on the Commission, when planning joint research projects, to consult researchers themselves, users and other national and/or European institutions (such as the European Science Foundation and the Eurohorcs), as well as large firms, SMEs and universities; calls on the Commission also to take account of the ageing of research potential in the European Union and its consequences for the labour market;

20.  Calls on the Commission, when formulating new research policy, to initiate a consultation process both with the scientific community (involving researchers, universities and research institutes, the views of the scientific fields concerned) and with users of the actual research findings (such as large companies and small and medium-sized undertakings), seeking to overcome the national bureaucratic restrictions which often hamper such processes;

21.  Calls on the Commission to work more closely with industry to help establish a genuine European research area and to specify what role the European business community might play in such efforts; currently, the private sector accounts for two thirds of R&D activities in the European Union;

22.  Calls on the Commission to consider how in particular exchanges of information about who does what in the field of research in the EU and what research centres excel in what fields can be stepped up and what role the concept of "centres of excellence" could play here;

23.  Calls on the Commission to consider how the networking of centres of excellence and the establishment of virtual centres might contribute to an increase in knowledge, environmental protection, economic growth and employment;

24.  Believes that the designation of certain research centres as 'centres of excellence' must be done on the basis of jointly accepted academic criteria;

25.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to consider what the most important problems are at present as regards research facilities in the European Union and how they can be resolved;

26.  Underlines that a European research area would be marked by efficient networking and easy collaboration among researchers and research institutes situated in different member states, with a greater mutual understanding between different research cultures than exists at present; this could be facilitated by enhanced use of the internet and other systems of electronic interaction, and would be of greatest value in relation to centres of highest excellence;

27.  Acknowledges the success of existing Europe-wide facilities and programmes, and stresses the need to develop "critical mass" in major research fields, whether at single centres or through "virtual centres", and urges the Commission and the Member States to give priority to the "critical mass" requirement both in the Framework Programmes and otherwise;

28.  Urges the Commission and the Member States to develop policy that forges closer links between research, universities and industry and commerce, with a view to improving the balance between supply and demand;

29.  Believes that, given the differences that exist between the European Union and the USA, the Member States must make a greater effort to benefit from the favourable effects that the new knowledge-based economy has on welfare, competitiveness and employment and set a target that within two years all EU Member States are investing at least 3% of GDP in scientific research; points out that the necessary increase in resources for research cannot be generated solely by the public authorities and that considerable political efforts must therefore be made to improve the preconditions for increasing private-sector contributions in this sphere and raising public awareness of this issue;

30.  Believes that the Annual Report on Community Measures in Support of Employment should regularly include a chapter on research and innovation;

31.  Considers that the Member States should offer incentives to large and small businesses which invest in scientific research through tax exemption to encourage reinvestment in research, and the development of risk capital mechanisms, with a view also to creating new jobs;

32.  Urges that early action be taken to introduce an inexpensive Community patent and to consider what other rules are needed to permit the transition to the new knowledge-based economy;

33.  Stresses the importance of closer coordination between the systems of intellectual property rights in the Union's Member States so as to promote transparency in the field of technology, while continuing work on other types of standards or utility models;

34.  Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support initiatives that bring scientists, industry and financiers together;

35.  Calls on the Commission to consider what obstacles currently exist to the implementation of the Fifth Framework Programme, both within the Commission itself and on the part of applicants and those participating in the Fifth Framework Programme; calls on the Commission to submit to the Council and the EP in good time - before the Sixth Framework Programme begins - a summary of the lessons which can be learned from the implementation of the Fifth Framework Programme;

36.  Points out that research may create employment in the longer term, but that this should not result in the opportunities in the shorter term being overlooked; also takes the view that existing financial resources should therefore also be made available directly for urgent, short-term research projects; the current shortages in the labour market in the European ICT sector (1 million vacancies) will lead to the loss of jobs to other parts of the world; there is a need for a policy that offers (financial) scope for ad hoc responses to trends and new market opportunities; it should be considered how far flexible training centres in the European Union can react to the reduction of shortages of skilled researchers in the areas of telecommunications, e-commerce and m-commerce, etc.;

37.  Underlines that full realisation of the aim of a single market will include easy mobility of researchers in the natural, medical, social, and human sciences among universities, research institutes, government research establishments, and private industry;

38.  Considers in this context that it would be an enhancement of European research cultures if deliberate steps were taken to establish or enhance contacts of various kinds between business firms of all kinds and universities and other research establishments, but with due precautions against abuse of commercial confidentiality to suppress publication of research findings that ought to be in the public domain;

39.  Believes that the Marie Curie Mobility Programme (MCMP) has been one of the most effective and successful parts of the fourth and fifth framework programmes and that it should be strengthened and expanded in the future, in particular by the inclusion of countries linked to the EU by association agreements and third countries, to include longer-term fellowships for post-doctorate scientists, return fellowships to encourage reintegration in countries of origin and senior fellowships to provide opportunities for established scientists and engineers from major European research centres to engage in the foundation of start-ups or spin-offs;

40.  Emphasises that research infrastructure in the European Union is not yet complete and that action needs to be taken in this area to give all citizens access to the available content, and calls on the Commission to make proposals as soon as possible for action based on the decisions taken at the extraordinary summit in Lisbon in this area;

41.  Calls on the national scientific organisations to speak with one voice in the European Union;

42.  Calls on the Commission to take or support all worthwhile measures in the field of communications infrastructures to promote the development of networks and enable research findings to be disseminated as widely as possible;

43.  Stresses the need to secure closer coordination between the Union's R&D framework programme and large-scale intergovernmental-level science and technology initiatives, such as EUREKA, EMBL, ESA, ESO or COST;

44.  Calls on the Commission to make provision for at least 5% of the Structural Funds not used by Objective 1 regions to be employed by the latter, on the condition that they promote genuine local and regional development, to promote scientific research in various sectors, so as to reduce the technological gap between these regions and the rest of Europe and prevent unused Structural Funds from being withdrawn;

45.  Calls for the serious integration of activities between the Structural Funds and pre-accession programmes, on the one hand, and the research programmes, on the other, so that the former provide research infrastructure in less favoured regions and the latter provide the mechanisms and financial means for collaboration at high levels of scientific rigour;

46.  Believes that the fifth framework programme must continue to be pursued with a view to the explicit involvement of the candidates for accession, especially the countries of Central and Eastern Europe with their good science base, but insists that scientific excellence must continue to be the decisive criterion for the eligibility of a project;

47.  Is convinced that the promotion of research, technological development and innovation needs a broader basis in European policy-making than that provided by the framework programme and urges the Commission therefore to suggest models and procedures to Parliament and the Council to allow and facilitate both at the planning and the practical implementation stage, ties of reciprocity between the framework research programme and other Community policies, and in particular the Structural Funds;

48.  Continues to believe that, in view of the present Treaty context, consideration must be given for every possible means of making European research funding - particularly for the framework programme and the specific programmes - more efficient and effective; within this Treaty context; calls, therefore, on the Commission to answer the following questions in planning the sixth framework programme:

49.  Calls on the Commission, as part of its assessment of possible new decision-making procedures to enhance both continuity and flexibility, to examine where and how greater concentrations of financial resources might be useful and necessary; it is particularly important in this context to establish how the European added value of research funding should be defined and on which technologies and/or projects the limited financial resources available should be concentrated in order to achieve optimum use of resources, for example:

50.  Calls on the Commission to examine the brief and the scope of the JRC and its institutes and the financial resources they require ahead of the next research programme and bearing in mind the future importance of the individual technologies and the specific added value of their work and to report to the European Parliament and the Council before the submission of first practical plans regarding the future framework programme;

51.  Calls on the Commission, in broadening the basis for European research policy, to consider how it can, on its own initiative and/or in cooperation with the Member States, make a contribution to drawing up, coordinating and implementing international research activities, for instance in the case of global challenges such as examining climatic change;

52.  Points out that Europe is currently the leader in a number of areas (e.g. renewable energies, software development, mobile communications, development of sensors/actuators, consumer electronics, digital TV, drug development, combined cycle energy production, waste management and recycling, telematics for transport applications); it should be considered how Europe might also take the lead in the future in fields where it now lags well behind the USA (e.g. imaging and visualisation technologies, basic chip production, artificial intelligence, agrofood applications, photovoltaics, battery development, ceramic material developments); a constant effort must be made to establish common standards; this is where Europe's advantage lies;

53.  Urges that Europe should play a leading role in the world in the key technologies and points out that the increasing links between biology and information technology pose a special challenge;

54.  Refers to the benefits of more benchmark studies in and outside the European Union that indicate clearly where and why certain (European) countries are more successful in a given area of technology than other countries, after which the EU Member States can take advantage of these best practices; in this context a benchmark of R&D efforts may help to improve the coordination of national and European R&D policies and of national and European R&D programmes; considers, furthermore, that it serves no useful purpose for the Commission to develop a generally recognised system for the validation of scientific findings and corresponding analysis, inspection and certification procedure, since the validation of scientific findings is a primary task of science and cannot be determined by policy-makers;

55.  Urges the Commission and Member States to consider how access to knowledge, innovation and R&D by and for SMEs can be promoted, and draws attention to the importance of closer cooperation between SMEs and regional universities and research institutes; calls on the Commission to make more resources available to improve the competitiveness of SMEs;

56.  Stresses the need to encourage participation not only by high-technology SME but also by those which are potential users of R&D findings in order to increase the competitiveness of European industry;

57.  Calls for common research initiatives which leave scope for both applied research and basic research in various areas of technology, and which take account of the fact that innovation often arises at the interface between different scientific disciplines; in the future new employment may emerge primarily in the areas of biotechnology and ICT; research in the human and social sciences continues to be needed in the European Union, with its still growing diversity of cultures;

58.  Invites the Commission to continue with interinstitutional concerted action before submitting a proposal for a draft sixth framework programme;

59.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the parliaments of the Member States.

(1) OJ L 26, 1.2.1999, p. 1. (2) OJ C 80, 16.3.1998, p. 41. (3) OJ C 200, 30.6.1997, p. 196. (4) OJ C 380, 16.12.1996, p. 72.