The technology platforms including completed their role

Just in time. The European Council should ratify Tuesday 19 December the new framework programme for research and development (FPRD), three days before the date of the first calls for project. The punctuality of Europe for the Seventh FPRD cache but poorly otherwise more worrying delay. Since a few days, the Union also published alarming figures on its R & D investment. Spring report ("Les Echos" from December 11) definitively buried the incantation of Lisbon in 2000. Europeans claimed then able to invest, by 2010, 3 of their GDP on R & D to become the most competitive knowledge of the world economy. The latest calculations show that this ratio will reach 2.6 with the unlikely assumption that all countries and businesses meet their pledges to increase their budgets. At best, it mark the US flag but will remain from the Japanese 3.18. And, then the latest calculations of the Commission show that the Chinese index is expected to double the European.

Simplify the paperwork

The arrival of a new FP will not change the situation. For a long time, this Community budget represents more than 5 of the total of the amounts invested in R & D European. In 2006, it was 4.6 of the Community budget. The effort that it represents for structuring such research is negligible on the 95 national financing which dispersion causes duplicates and limit the stimulation of the researchers. Symmetrically, "95 of the research public American are federal and thus laboratories in competition across the whole country." "European national programmes only smaller scales, only the framework allows an also great competition," said the cabinet of European Commissioner, Janez Potocnik.

Yet Europe was ambition with this new framework, which will have EUR 54.6 billion over seven years. By 2013, it promises 75 increase in actual costs compared to the previous framework, annual amount. Because of budgetary constraints European until 2009, the annual amount of FPRD identical perimeter will remain stable, but it will double from 2013.

It is a chance for all companies and research laboratories working together among themselves by this channel. As the European Commission has been able to make excellent innovations such as the European Research Council (ERC) breaking the taboo of the defence research (read below). Now, the FP7 covers all major topics (health, agriculture, information technology, nanoscience, environment, energy, transport, social and human sciences, space, security). These 10 chapters, must be added the nuclear programme Euratom 2.7 billion.

The authors of the new program also fired a few lessons of 6 ePCRD, especially on the excessive cumbersomeness in cost and time of an application. A default including SMEs, laboratories, but also major groups complain unanimously. Yves Bamberger, Director of research at EDF, explains that he is forced to detach at full time, for several months, a "senior" experienced for each nomination. A costly investment.

The commission wants to reduce the current rate of nominations (7-8 applicants for a winner) with a new procedure in two stages, the first light designed to cream off the records. The paperwork will be also easier for financial management. In particular, the consortia will no longer be covered with a weighing system of collective responsibility but will adhere to a guarantee fund. With a virtue to the key: major groups will be less reluctant to associate with fragile players as young shoots, and should therefore take more risks, key to innovation.

By contrast, the Seventh FPRD will stabilize the new tools introduced by the previous. The technology platforms, including completed their role. Entire sectors are assembled there to get out of the strategic technology agendas. The new program will offer to the more mature sectors to adopt joint technological initiatives.

The Germany, a model

Finally, the framework may reflect the right balance of a future European research system. It is the result of a learned determination between cooperation and competition. With 15 of the FP7, ERC symbolizes total competition of individual researchers. 60 Of the Co-Operation programme are intended to be a mixture of competition among consortia, and cooperation within them. As the "people" awards, they are presented as a gesture of support to the careers of researchers. The Capacities of EUR 4.2 billion envelope will promote collaboration of Europeans by investing in common research infrastructures. An initial list was already arrested, it includes the permanent undersea laboratory claimed oceans long specialists, the new large European telescope ELT, a large calculator, a research icebreaker, molecular imaging laboratories, etc.

The FPRD should soon reach maturity, it is well structured and better and better funded. The Commission now wished to impose on the States to organize their national programmes with him. In basic research, this should be the case in two years, when the perimeter of the ERC will be better known. Alain Quevreux, specialist in Europe at the National Association of technical research, believes that the Germany is the model to follow. "It is the only one to define national priorities in addition to the framework," he assured.

Next step: acceptance of the parties involved, companies, laboratories, local communities, specialize. "This will happen through the competition, we see already that projects montages are worn by hundreds of large organizations," hope Alain Quevreux.