Brussels, 21 Apr 2006
Full text of Document 1203/06
Suite of documents 1203/06
The meeting was chaired by Mr José SILVA RODRIGUEZ (European Commission, Director General for Research), Mr Richard ESCRITT (European Commission, Director) and for items 8 and 9 by Mme DE LA TORRE (European Commission, Head of Unit).
1. ADOPTION OF THE DRAFT AGENDA
The Committee adopted the agenda as set out in communication CM 151/06 of 13 January 2006.
Mr SILVA RODRIGUEZ, chairing the meeting for the first time since his appointment as Director General, was welcomed by all members of the Committee.
2. APPROVAL OF THE DRAFT SUMMARY CONCLUSIONS OF THE 306th MEETING OF 26 JANUARY 2006
The Committee approved the summary conclusions, after having agreed to incorporate a modification proposed by the UK delegation (see doc. CREST 1202/1/06 REV 1).
3. INFORMATION FROM THE PRESIDENCY AND THE COMMISSION
a) Mr SEISER (AT Presidency) informed the Committee of major research-related events occurring during the Austrian Presidency. In particular, he highlighted:
- the Senior Officials Meeting in Salzburg (1-3 February 2006) which had led to a set of conclusions on EU/Latin American/Caribbean science and technology cooperation in preparation for a summit meeting scheduled for 11-12 May in Vienna;
- the results of the European Conference on Security Research (Vienna, 20-21 February 2006);
- the progress made on research-related dossiers at the recent Competitiveness Council (13 March 2006);
- the forthcoming Informal Competitiveness Council (20-22 April 2006, Graz);
- the meeting of the Scientific Council of the ERC scheduled for 26/ April in Vienna;
- the forthcoming Conference on European Technology Platforms (4-5 May 2006, Vienna);
- a conference on "Improving research policies in Europe through the Open Method of Coordination" (18 May 2006, Brussels).
b) Mr ESCRITT (Commission services) informed the Committee of:
- the situation regarding the contacts between the three institutions in view of an interinstitutional agreement on the financial perspectives and its consequences for the 7th RTD Framework Programme and the specific programmes;
- the fact that the Scientific Council of the European Research Council has begun its operational work and is scheduled to meet regularly at different locations throughout the Union; - the Commission Communication on the role of universities, scheduled to be adopted in May 2006 at the latest.
c) Mme NYBERGH (Incoming Finnish Presidency) presented initial information on the 309th CREST meeting to be held in Joensuu (Finland) on 4-6 July 2006.
4. 3% AND THE OPEN METHOD OF COORDINATION
(i) The role of CREST in the renewed Lisbon Strategy
Mr SARAGOSSI and Mr GOENAGA (Commission services) presented a discussion paper on the proposed future role of the Committee in the Lisbon Strategy, in particular concerning the 3% and the open method of coordination. The Commission services considered that CREST should consolidate its efforts and achievements. This should involve starting a third 3% OMC cycle by mid-2006; areas could relate to strategic topics so far not covered by OMC such as "globalisation and R&D" and "the use of structural funds to support research" as well as to the issue of mutual learning concerning National Reform Programmes (NRPs) and Implementation Reports (IRs).
In the future, CREST could be involved in supporting the preparation of the Commission's 2007 Annual Progress Report and the research input to the "2007 Key Issues Paper" from the Competitiveness Council to the Spring European Council.
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