The Integrating Effect of the Research Policy of the European Communities

Abstract

AbstractThe research and development policy of the European Community (EC) was raised to a more solid legal basis by means of an extension of the treaties—the Single European Act—30 years after the enactment of the treaties of Rome. Today, the EC has succeeded in creating an independent, successful continent‐wide research und development community despite rather limited budgetary means. The reasearch activities of the EC were originally restricted to EURATOM, which takes care of problems concerning civil nuclear research. EURATOM brought many experiences in the course of time, and also yielded many successes. We have learned above all how community research and national research are to be coordinated in the most efficient way. After the energy crisis of the seventies, and after many national R & D failures in various fields, high priority was given to the improvement and safeguarding of the technological competitivity of the community and the effective strengthening of its innovation potential. It was more and more generally accepted that all R & D resources had to be concentrated throughout the community in order to enable it to compete successfully, especially with the U. S. and Japan. In order to fulfill this objective a research policy with a strong integrating effect was requested in addition to the national R & D research policies. Cohesion and know‐how transfer inside the EC belong therefore to the central issues of the R & D policy of the community, as do special efforts to include small and medium‐sized institutes and enterprises (SMEs). Framework programs were introduced in the eighties in order to ensure a medium‐term disposability of the budgetary means for R & D and to secure a certain continuity. The third framework program has been agreed upon, and it provides research funding until 1994. In 1987 approximately 1 Bill. Ecu/year were spent for R & D. Today, 1, 5 Bill. Ecu/year are available, and this amount will further grow to provide approximately 2 Bill. Ecu/year in 1992/93. Issues like the difference between basic and applied research under inclusion of industry‐political viewpoints are also included in this report. Furthermore, cooperation with and delimitation to other countries or communities such as the U. S. and Japan or the EFTA and the Comecon member states will be discussed. Finally, perspectives for R & D policies of the European Community in the nineties will be presented.