EU 27 to identify joint public research topics by end 2008 

The first meeting of EU-27 research ministers under the French Presidency, on 17 July, was a follow-up to the 'Ljubljana Process ' aimed at better exploiting Europe's research potential and creating a genuine European Research Area (ERA). 

The meeting was also the first opportunity to debate the Commission's Communication on joint public research programming to tackle major societal challenges. 

The Presidency conclusions note that ministers have already identified four issues for which "effective coordination of European research could be quickly implemented". These are set to figure among the topics proposed for inclusion "as strategic policies" in the ERA 'Vision 2020' to be adopted by the ministers in December. They are:

• Adapting agriculture to climate change to ensure food security; 
• implementing the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan); 
• embedded computing and future internet, and;  
• Alzheimer's disease. 

However, with the exception of the Alzheimer's initiative, the level of concreteness of these initiatives is currently "very low", commented a member state representative. As for the subjects of joint programming in general, he noted that the final topics to be agreed upon will be "far more specific" than the current broad working topics like energy or ICT, adding that Alzheimer's was a good example of such a narrow topic. 

He said member states need to carefully analyse which topics are worth working together on. Cooperation on areas where pre-commercial development is already underway nationally is obviously excluded from consideration for potential topics for joint programming, he added.

Joint programming "is possible", he said, on areas such as intelligent electricity transmission networks, for which pre-commercial projects do not exist yet. 

When the ERA 'Vision 2020' is ready (by the end of 2008), the ministers are set to continue work on the governance of ERA, the results of which should be ready by the end of 2009.