The Spanish science minister paid a flying visit to Dublin last week in preparation for a key council meeting in March that will discuss spending worth €17.5bn, writes Dick Ahlstrom, Science Editor.
The chairman of the EU council of science ministers visited Dublin late last week, one in a series of last-minute meetings before the next research-council session, in Brussels on March 11th. It has a straightforward agenda but a remarkable focus: €17.5bn.
The ministers, including Noel Treacy, the Minister of State for Science, Technology and Commerce, will gather to discuss the EU's next four-year science budget, Framework Programme 6 (FP6), which is due to come into play in December. Spain's secretary of state for scientific and technological policy, Prof Ramon Marimon Suñol, will head the meeting.
Prof Marimon has been touring EU capitals in anticipation of the meeting, trying to iron out any last-minute problems. The Spanish presidency had set itself the goal of bringing in council agreement on the budget well in advance of its December 15th due date, unlike the last budget, which cleared a month late after much acrimony. The tardiness produced a funding gap between the fourth and fifth programmes. "We don't want any gaps, so we have to hurry up with discussions," he says. "The purpose [of the meetings] is to have feedback, to see how our priorities for the presidency related to different countries' concerns," he says. Much progress has been made, he believes, so much so that he suggests the council was already ready to meet on FP6.
He stresses that the council's FP6 spending plan must also be passed by the European Parliament. "We want to have dialogue with the parliament but can only do it if we have the views of the whole council," says Prof Marimon. "What we want is to be able to portray to the parliament that the council has solved the main problems in advance of March 11th."
Clearing parliament will be no easy matter. More and more it has taken on an aggressive role when it comes to council and commission decisions, with parliamentarians echoing concerns expressed at home about stem-cell research, genetically modified foods and other contentious issues.
There are also intracouncil difficulties over science-spending priorities, as ministers are seen to fight the good fight on behalf of constituents at home.
For this reason, the Republic has always pushed hard for marine research, but Treacy also laid down markers last December, in Brussels, on the Republic's opposition to support for stem-cell research.
Prof Marimon's view is that the Irish and Spanish funding priorities match well, citing marine research in particular. "We have a common view on priorities. I think we can progress well in this direction."
He praised the Government's greatly improved funding programmes for science. "Ireland is an example of a country with exceptional development in research in information technology and biotech. It is an example for the whole of Europe," he says.
Prof Marimon says the Republic's concerns about stem-cell research have been taken on board. "I don't think it has been a problem," he says. "What Ireland has stated is that we should respect the rules, and there is agreement on that." This means the Republic will not be forced to engage in stem-cell research or lose out because our laws preclude it. Equally, where it is allowed, national regulations will be adhered to in all cases.
"So far it has not created problems. These are serious ethical issues." We should encourage dialogue rather than avoid the problem, he says.
He highlights two priorities for the Spanish presidency: promotion of innovation within Europe and furthering the goal of a common research and innovation area for the EU. Its aim would be to co-ordinate research efforts across the EU as a way of improving efficiency and reducing duplication. It is a key issue given that the FP6 programme, large as it is, represents only about 5 per cent of the total spend, in the public and private sectors, on research and innovation.
There has been concern that the average research spend as a percentage of GDP has been stagnant across Europe, and the presidency wants to reverse this. "An absolute goal we will bring to the Barcelona summit is a 3-per-cent-of-GDP spend by 2010," says Prof Marimon. "It is very important that the private sector takes a lead. A serious concern is that the gap with the US has been widening. That is something we will have to improve."
Spain hosted the council's first informal meeting of industry and research ministers, in S'Agaro- Girona at the start of February, with a key aim of finding better ways to co-ordinate national research programmes. Agreement was reached on the long-discussed European Research and Innovation Area, something Prof Marimon views as crucial. "This, in the long run, may be the most important thing we have done."
He wants to foster a European market for technology. "SMEs [small to medium-sized companies] should play a vital role in this," he says. He looks to California and its support for computer research in Silicon Valley as a model. "That should be the same in Europe. The participation of SMEs in the sixth framework programme should be fostered. I think we are more and more aware that it isn't just a task for the research council."
Further information about the Spanish presidency is available at www.cordis.lu/spain