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Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — Moving the ICT frontiers — a strategy for research on future and emerging technologies in Europe’

On 20 April 2009, the European Commission decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Article 262 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Moving the ICT frontiers – a strategy for research on future and emerging technologies in Europe

The Section for the Single Market, Production and Consumption, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 17 November 2009. The rapporteur was Ms Darmanin and the co-rapporteur Mr Wolf.

At its 458th plenary session, held on 16 and 17 December 2009 (meeting of 16 December 2009), the European Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion unanimously.

1.1 Strengthening R&D and innovation is an essential element in the recovery from the present economic and financial crisis.

1.2 Among the main themes of R&D, such as climate, energy and healthcare, ICT plays a key role as a cross-cutting technology affecting nearly all aspects of society, economy, science and technology.

1.3 In terms of R&D for ICT, the sub-programme ‘Future and Emerging Technologies’ (FET) acts as the pathfinder which – in the longer term – may lead to completely new, possibly revolutionary information and communication technologies.

1.4 Consequently, the EESC fully supports the proposals set out in the Commission Communication on future and emerging technologies. The EESC also supports the proposed increase of the FET budget within ICT of 20 % per annum.

1.5 However, while the above-mentioned increase is merely in line with the foreseen increase of the ICT-programme as a whole and thus would not change the relative share of the FET-programme, the EESC recommends that the present relative FET share be raised incrementally to 15 % in FP7, and that this trend be continued in FP8.

1.6 Regarding the ‘Rules for Participation for the Seventh Framework Programme’, the EESC appeals to Member States and their funding organisations to contribute their required share to ensure the programme can be implemented successfully.

1.7 Moreover, the EESC also appeals to the Member States to develop powerful national R&D-programmes of their own in the fields of ICT and on FET, in order to become strong partners for European and for international cooperation. A larger part of the structural funds should be invested for this purpose. The EESC considers achieving progress in this area to be an important element of the new Lisbon strategy (1), to be pursued using the instrument of open coordination.

1.8 The EESC also supports the proposed structuring of the FET programme into two different branches: ‘Nurturing new ideas in promising domains’ (FET Pro-active) - including the recently proposed Flagship projects - and ‘Exploration of novel ideas’ (FET Open). The openness of the FET scheme to new ideas is particularly important for stimulating scientific and intellectual potential within Member States.

1.9 Within the proposed FET-programme, the EESC also supports additional features such as multidisciplinary approach, joint programming between Member States and international cooperation. However, it should be ensured that promising initiatives are not submerged by the complexity of the related procedures, and that outstanding scientists and institutions are encouraged to participate.

1.10 The Committee calls for immediate and tangible action in the area of European Community patent.

1.11 The Committee appeals to Commission and Member States to attract top talent to this field of research and to avoid a brain drain of the most talented young scientists. The Committee notes with satisfaction that some research organisations have already implemented successful programmes to face this challenge.

1.12 The Committee repeats its recommendation that the new category of ‘ICT for Science and Research’ be introduced into the overall ICT programme.

2.1 Within the Specific Programme ‘Cooperation’, R&D on information and communication technologies (ICT) represents the central pillar of the Community 7th RTD-Framework Programme (2007 – 2013) (2), short FP7-Programme. A small part of that ICT-related R&D-Programme, presently accounting for about 10 % of its specific budget, is research on Future and Emerging Technologies (FET). While the larger part of the ICT Programme mainly involves using existing scientific knowledge to develop innovative ICT-technologies, research on FET acts as a pathfinder for the ICT programme by addressing more fundamental scientific questions, the solution of which – in the longer term – may lead to completely new and possibly revolutionary information and communication technologies.

2.2 The Commission Communication sets out the aim of strengthening research on Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) as part of the ICT programme. This will complement and reinforce the actions described in the recent Commission Communication (3) on the strategy for ICT R&D and innovation in Europe.

2.3 With current funding of around EUR 100 million a year, the FET Programme supports scientists and engineers venturing into uncharted areas beyond the frontiers of traditional ICT. The European Commission supports the increase in the FP7 budget for FET research by 20 % per year from 2011 to 2013. It invites Member States to match this effort with similar increases.

2.4 The European FET research scheme is unique in the way it combines the following characteristics. They are:

2.5 FET is implemented by means of thematic research in emerging areas (FET Pro-active) and open, unconstrained exploration of novel ideas (FET Open).

2.6 In its Communication, the Commission proposes a strategy on several elements such as to:

2.7 The Commission invites the Member States to endorse the proposed objectives, targets and strategy, and to encourage national and regional authorities, universities and public research organisations and private stakeholders to participate in the preparations for future action.

3.1 ICT as part of FP7. In its Opinion on the Community 7th RTD-Framework-Programme (2) the EESC stated that ‘Effective, high-quality research and development that enjoys an adequate level of support is in fact the basic foundation and sine qua non for innovation, competitiveness and prosperity, and thus also for cultural development and the provision of social services; investments in research and development have a high gain factor and boost economic strength accordingly.’ This is true more than ever in view of our present serious economic and financial crisis which, together with the prevailing energy and climate problems, demonstrates the urgent need for further research and ground-breaking innovations.

Impact of ICT. In this context, ICT plays an essential role as a key cross-cutting technology supporting nearly all aspects and processes of modern life. During the last few decades, ICT and related technologies have produced revolutionary changes and progress in society's working patterns, affecting individual lifestyles, industrial production, commerce, administration, and science itself.

3.2.1 ICT as a research tool. ICT is a tool that enables further research and development in other innovation fields such as energy (4), climate, healthcare and the ageing society, together with a broad range of socio-economic issues. ICT represents therefore not only an area of innovation in itself but also a tool for innovation in other areas of science, society and technology. Further development of ICT is expected to accelerate and promote this progress.

3.3 R&D on ICT. R&D on ICT mainly uses existing scientific knowledge for developing or improving new devices, methods, and instruments of computation and communication. These topics range from grid computing to UMTS; the whole spectrum of the many different projects can be found at http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/projects/home_en.html.

3.4 The FET-Programme. Yet R&D on ICT also requires a deeper understanding of the laws of nature and in particular of the way nature processes information in order to extend our present limitations and to proceed into completely new fields of knowledge which promises new potential for innovation and ICT-technology. This is the purpose of the FET Programme which has already attracted the international science elite.

3.5 Pathfinder Role. The EESC believes that the Commission's FET programme has been very successful and has indeed acted as a pathfinder. The Committee therefore supports the continuation and extension of the programme as proposed by the Commission. The EESC also supports the proposed increase of the FET budget of 20 % per annum and the concept of venturing into uncharted areas seeking fundamental new opportunities

3.6 Increase of the relative share of FET. The EESC recognises that today's investment in FET is the seed for tomorrow's ICT. Hence, while the increase of the FET budget of 20 % per annum is merely in line with the foreseen increase of the ICT programme as a whole and would not change the relative share of the FET programme, the EESC recommends that the present FET share be raised incrementally to 15 % within FP7, and that this trend be continued in FP8.

3.7 Two Branches. The EESC also supports the structuring of the FET programme into two different branches: the proactive thematic research part ‘Nurturing new ideas in promising domains’ (FET Pro-active) - including the proposed Flagship projects (5) (decentralised self-organised systems for example) - and the ‘Exploration of novel ideas’ (FET Open) which takes a bottom-up approach and is open to applicants proposing completely new ideas. The openness of the FET scheme is particularly important for stimulating scientific and intellectual potential within Member States.

3.8 Member States and Rules for Participation. While the main part of ICT development is carried out by industry and SMEs (6), the FET Programme being discussed here is primarily addressing universities and public research institutions in the EU. In line with the ‘Rules for Participation’ (7) for the 7th RTD-Framework Programme, the FET Programme stimulates cooperation between Member States and funding by Member States. The EESC therefore appeals to the funding organisations of the Member States, to contribute their share in order to facilitate or enhance participation in this important programme.

3.9 Member States’ national R&D on FET. Moreover, the EESC also appeals to the Member States to develop powerful national R&D-programmes of their own in the fields of ICT (8) and FET in order to become strong partners for European and for international cooperation. A larger part of the structural funds should be invested for this purpose.

Programme characteristics and selection criteria. The Committee considers that the main aim of addressing and supporting new thematic, methodical and technological ideas is excellent and worthy of support, and that the other aims listed in points 2.4 and 2.6 are attractive and important. The Committee is pleased to note that the characteristics and elements stated in points 2.4 and 2.6 – particularly when combined – are conducive to scientific originality and excellence as first-order selection criteria. The Committee is convinced that originality, excellence and relevance are of prime importance, and feels that this has been the case in the past and should continue to be so in the future.

3.10.1 No ‘one size fits all’ approach. The FET programme should therefore avoid a ‘one size fits all’ approach in applying its instruments. While the programme includes and combines different features (9), each of which is valid and important, the projects to be supported should not be selected on the basis of whether they fulfil all the different characteristics: in other words it should not be mandatory to address them all.

3.11 Acceptance of failures. Since exploring novel terrain generally leads to a significant overall pay-off, in the ‘high-risk’ projects which are characteristic of the FET programme, failures also have to be accepted and must not stigmatise the researchers involved or the support provided by the FP7 Programme. Even in the flagship projects, risk of failure cannot be excluded. The EESC is pleased to see that this principle has been included and emphasised in the Commission document.

3.12 FET Programme and ESFRI List. The European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures roadmap (ESFRI list (10)) should be encouraged and supported in order to fully exploit the potential of existing and new research infrastructures, and to ensure that links are developed between them and the FET-Programme.

This paragraph addresses some of the issues outlined in points 2.4 and 2.6 above.

4.1 Multidisciplinary approaches. The EESC recognises and emphasises the challenges outlined in the Commission Communication. One of the challenges involves promoting cooperation between disciplines, which is crucial for the success of FET. The EESC therefore appreciates that multidisciplinary approaches are an intrinsic requirement of the selected projects and the recently proposed ‘flagship themes’ (11).

4.2 Involvement of Industry, SMEs and Society. In order to guarantee the proper implementation of future industrial or societal applications for the more fundamentally oriented FET-Programme, representatives of industry, SMEs and society should be part of the relevant advisory boards. The EESC notes that this has been the case (12); and the Committee recommends maintaining this practice in the future. The EESC also calls for more active participation from researchers in social fields.

4.3 Attracting top talent and avoiding brain drain. Attracting top talent to the field of research and avoiding a brain drain of the most talented young scientists in particular is a serious challenge that the EESC has highlighted on several occasions (13). The EESC notes with satisfaction that some research organisations (14) have already implemented successful programmes to face this challenge. The EESC recommends that more organisations in all Member States act in the same vein, and that the Commission supports this policy. Furthermore, the EESC recommends that programmes for students are strengthened to attract graduates to specific fields of research, though it is also necessary to boost secondary school pupils’ interests in innovation, science and research. These programmes would need to be implemented in such a way that excellence can be identified at the pre-graduation stage.

4.4 Joint Programming (8). Recalling that by far the largest part of publicly funded R&D is carried out within or financed by Member States, the EESC repeats its appeal for a coordinated procedure between the EU-Member States in order to fully exploit the R&D potential of the Member States, together with support from the Community R&D Framework Programme.

4.5 Research collaboration in FET domains. The EESC reemphasises its recent opinion (8) on this issue and welcomes the Commission's recommendation to overcome the fragmentation of current European research efforts and to further strengthen research collaboration in selected FET domains. As far as the requirements laid down in the Rules for Participation are not yet sufficient, the EESC recommends that the Commission as soon as possible invites Member States to launch joint initiatives under the Joint Programming in Research Initiative in domains such as quantum and neuro-information technologies where European research roadmaps exist, and to extend these initiatives to other FET domains of common interest at a later date. The EESC considers achieving progress in this area to be an important element of the new Lisbon strategy (1), to be pursued using the instrument of open coordination.

4.6 International Collaboration. The Committee agrees with the Commission that FET research is also especially well placed for (global) international collaboration as it lays the foundations for future ICT and addresses global scientific challenges. The EESC refers to its recent Opinion on this subject (15). The EESC agrees with the Commission that Europe's leading competitors have acknowledged the importance of foundational research for gaining and maintaining a leading position in ICT.

4.7 Complexity of Procedures. Concerning the issues addressed under points 4.4 and 4.5, the EESC also recognises that the related procedures can add considerable complexity to technical and scientific endeavour. Efforts should be made to ensure that promising initiatives are not submerged by these process issues, and that outstanding scientists and institutions are encouraged to participate.

4.8 Need for a European Community Patent. The Committee emphasises the fact that a European Community Patent would help to faster and better protect the intellectual property rights emerging from European investment in R&D. The Committee deeply regrets that no tangible progress has been made since ten years.

4.9 ICT for Science and Research. The EESC repeats its previous recommendation (15) that the new category of ‘ICT for Science and Research’ be introduced into the overall ICT programme, with a strong focus on software. The Committee feels that the extended FET programme would benefit from such a move.

Brussels, 16 December 2009

The President of the European Economic and Social Committee

Mario SEPI

(5) See Report from the Information Society Technologies Advisory Group (ISTAG), 31 July 2009, Final Version.

(6) In this context the EESC also draws attention to the helpful role of EUREKA by offering project partners rapid access to a wealth of knowledge, skills and expertise across Europe and by facilitating access to national public and private funding schemes (http://www.eureka.be/about.do).

(11) See e.g. Commission Report on the FET-Consultations 2007-2008, Future and Emerging Technolgies, ISBN 978-92-79-09565-8, Sept. 2008.

(12) Members of the Information Society Technologies Advisory Group (ISTAG) see: http//cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/istag/home_en.html.

(14) For example Helmholtz Association of German Resarch Centres and Max-Planck-Society.