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Interview Research Commissioner Mr. Potocnik

Q: Commissioner, 22 December saw the launch of the first calls for proposals for the EU‘s new research programme, FP7. Why was that a big day for you?
A: I think it is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, it shows that the EU is working, and capable of delivering a major programme like this on time. When you think that we only had an agreement on the budget in May of this year, so couldn‘t properly start the legislative proposal till then, it is something near a miracle, what we have achieved. I think we did it because there was agreement across the board – within the Commission and the Parliament and all the Member States – that the aims of the Seventh Framework Programme are just too important to ignore.
And that‘s the second reason why today is important. Europe needs research. If our businesses are to remain competitive in the global marketplace, if we are to face up to challenges such as climate change, or the ageing of our population, then we need to know more and be better. We don‘t have natural resources, we care about our environment and we treasure our social systems. So our best hope for keeping one step ahead of the rest of the world is our brain power.
Q: How much money is being made available with these calls for proposals and what sort of projects are you looking for?
A: We are launching calls for proposals for FP7 in 42 areas today, representing about €4 billion. We are looking for projects to be suggested in all sorts of areas – developing the research potential of Europe‘s poorer regions, supporting researchers who want to work in another country, research to help small companies. We are also looking for projects in specific thematic areas. This could be something like combating stroke, from the Health theme, tools for controlling infectious animal diseases, from our food, agriculture, fisheries and biotechnology theme, or low resource consumption buildings, from our environment theme. But we don‘t have specific ideas – we indicate the theme and then it is up to the research community to form partnerships and come up with really good ideas in that specific area.
This call for proposals also sees the beginning of the European Research Council. This is a new element in FP7 and gives Europe, for the first time, a body dedicated to supporting the best research out there that pushes forward the frontiers of our knowledge. The ERC‘s Scientific Council – the men and women from the scientific community that are steering the ERC – have decided that the first year should be dedicated to starting investigators, that is, researchers at the beginning of their career. I‘m really excited about the ERC, and how it can help Europe build its knowledge base.
Q: So what happens next?
A: Each call for proposals will indicate a deadline by which we need to receive the proposals. Once that deadline has passed, all the proposals are examined by independent evaluators. These are scientists from across Europe and also outside, who are able to evaluate how the projects correspond to our three main criteria: the quality of the science (obviously the most important), the intended impact of the project and the means of implementing it. On the basis of this independent evaluation, the best projects are identified and then the Commission and the project team agree a contract, and the funding starts.
Q: What do you think Europe will get out of this programme?
A: If we achieve what I think we can, then by the end of FP7 we will be leading the world in a number of new technologies, such as low emission buildings. Our pharmaceutical industry will be producing new therapies for some of the major diseases and illnesses we face today, like cancer or influenza. We will be helping developing countries with technologies for things like water purification, or finding new ways to flight illnesses such as HIV and malaria. We will be reducing the polluting effect of coal and other fossil fuels through carbon capture and storage, and exporting this to the rest of the world. And maybe the ERC will help us again a few more Nobel prizes along the way!
(Source Europa)

The European Environment Agency (EEA) has launched a call for tenders for a GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) fast track service on land monitoring – high-resolution core land cover data for built-up areas, including degree of soil sealing, 2006. (Source Cordis)
The European Environment Agency (EEA) has launched a call
for tenders for a GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security)
fast track service on land monitoring – high-resolution core land cover
data for built-up areas, including degree of soil sealing, 2006. The EEA is collaborating with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the
European Commission (EC) on the implementation of a fast track service
on land monitoring, in line with the Communication from the Commission
to the Council and the European Parliament ‘Global Monitoring for
Environment and Security (GMES): From Concept to Reality’ (COM
565 final).
For the implementation of this GMES fast track
service on land monitoring (Land FTS) 2006-2008, a CLC (Corine Land
Cover) update will be combined with the production of new
high-resolution land cover data to provide a first set of
cost-effective operational services on core land cover and land use
data at European level, based on high-quality ortho-rectified
multi-temporal satellite data.
These land cover data will support a wide range
of environmental information requirements for framing, implementing and
evaluating several policy areas at European, national and regional
level including agriculture, soil, water, urban environment, air
quality, physical planning, integrated coastal zone management,
biodiversity and nature protection.
The overall objective is the production of a
seamless European high-resolution core land cover dataset of built-up
areas, including degree of soil sealing, for the reference year 2006.
The ortho-rectified satellite input data for this GMES fast track
service will be made available by ESA.
For further information, please contact:
European Environment Agency
Attn: Linda Jandrup
Kongens Nytorv 6
DK-1050 Copenhagen K
Tel: +45 33 36 71 71
Fax: +45 33 36 71 51
E-mail: Contact
To see the full details of the call, please consult the following web address:
Remarks:
The deadline for requesting tender documents is 9 February 2007.
The deadline for submitting tender documents is 21 February 2007.
Before
contacting the Commission, tenderers are strongly advised to consult
the original call text in the Official Journal of the European Union at
the reference below.
Category: Calls
Data Source Provider: Official Journal of the European Union
Document Reference: OJ No S 11-011672 of 17 January 2007
Subject Index: Environmental Protection; Policies; Information Processing, Information Systems
RCN: 26968
(Source Cordis)

The European Parliament gave the go-ahead for the EU‘s research and development funding for the period 2007-2013, when MEPs adopted 10 reports relating to the 7th Framework Research Programme (FP7).

Research and innovation – 30-11-2006
This programme, the EU‘s main instrument for funding scientific research, will have a budget of more than €54 billion over its seven-year life.
As Parliament and Council have settled their main differences through a compromise package, FP7 is to enter into force on 1 January 2007.
What is FP7?
The seventh programme is intended to build on the achievements of its predecessor by making further progress towards the creation of a European Research Area, the equivalent of a “common market” for research. The long-term goal is for the European Union to become the world’s leading research area.
Successive framework programmes (FPs) have operated since 1984, each covering a five year period. The current programme – FP6 – expires at the end of 2006. However, FP7 will run for seven years – from 1 January 2007 to 2013 – so as to coincide with the EU‘s multiannual budget framework (the Financial Perspective).
Simpler instruments and procedures for funding and participation are a feature of FP7, which will promote collaborative research based on broad research areas, with much continuity from FP6 plus two new topics, space and security. Only projects involving several partners from different countries will be financed. The programme‘s funds are not general subsidies to research organisations or companies: they may only be used for specific work or research projects.
The 7th Framework Programme is organised around four Specific Programmes:
Co-operation: a programme to support cooperation between universities, industry, research centres and public authorities, and between the EU and third countries.
Ideas: a programme to create an autonomous European Research Council to support investigator-driven “frontier research”.
People: a programme to support training and career development of researchers.
Capacities: a programme focusing on the coordination and development of research infrastructure, support for regional research clusters, SMEs, closer ties between science and society and international cooperation.
In addition, Specific Programmes will be set up for the Joint Research Centre (non-nuclear activities) and Euratom nuclear research and training activities.
Separately, the Euratom Framework Programme (which also has a Specific Programme) covers two areas: fusion energy research and nuclear fission and radiation protection.
Parliament‘s role
The European Parliament has joint legislative power with the Council (under the codecision procedure) on the main programme (FP7) and the rules for participation. It is only consulted on the Euratom programme and the various specific programmes.
Parliament strongly backed this legislation from the outset and made every effort to speed it through the legislative process. On 15 June, the EP adopted its first reading position on the main FP7 programme and its report on the Euratom part.
Many of Parliament‘s first-reading amendments were accepted by Council, including those aimed at encouraging participation by small and medium-sized firms and boosting the position of young researchers and women in science, and those dealing with stem cell research. The 39 new compromise amendments on which Parliament will vote on 30 November deal with the remaining issues which MEPs still wish to emphasise, including Parliament‘s priorities, the European Research Council and the proposed Risk Sharing Facility. Members also stress that no money from FP7 should be used to finance the proposed European Institute of Technology.
Parliament‘s priorities
MEPs are insisting on shifting some of the spending towards Parliament‘s own priorities, including research on renewable energy and energy efficiency as well as the possibility of funding research on children‘s health, respiratory diseases (including those induced by allergies), plus research into neglected diseases.
The compromise states that renewables and end use energy efficiency will account for the “major part” of the budget of FP7‘s energy theme – rather than the two thirds proposed in Parliament‘s first reading. Special attention will be devoted to coordination of issues linked to rational and efficient use of energy within the Framework Programme and in other EU policies and programmes.
European Research Council
The compromise also includes amendments concerning the European Research Council – a new body to support investigator-driven “frontier research”. It was agreed that the administration costs of the ERC should not exceed 5% of its total budget in order to maximise funding for frontier research – in its first reading Parliament had asked for a limit of 3%, to avoid top-heavy administration. On the question of how far Parliament should be involved in an interim evaluation of the ERC‘s structure, it was agreed that the co-decision procedure would be used if changes in the structure of the ERC become necessary.
Ethical questions
Ethical issues were of great concern to all involved in the adoption of the programme, with opinions differing sharply. At its first reading Parliament adopted a compromise which the Council was able to accept (with opposition from a couple of Member States
Parliament and Council agreed that all the research activities carried out under the Seventh Framework Programme must be carried out in compliance with fundamental ethical principles. Thus, no Community funding will be allowed for research aimed at human cloning for reproductive purposes or research intended to modify the genetic heritage of human beings. Nor will funds be available for research intended to create human embryos solely for the purposes of research or stem cell procurement, including by means of somatic cell nuclear transfer.
Research on the use of human stem cells, both adult and embryonic, may be financed, depending both on the nature of the scientific proposal and the legal framework of the Member State(s) involved. As regards the use of human embryonic stem cells, institutions, organisations and researchers must be strictly licensed and controlled in accordance with the legal framework of the Member State(s) involved.
Risk Sharing Facility and European Institute of Technology
The Risk Sharing Finance Facility, designed to encourage bank lending to research projects, is also part of the second-reading compromise. The Council had planned to allocate €1 billion from FP7 to finance the RSFF (to be matched by an equal amount from the European Investment Bank) but now the compromise provides for a lower contribution from FP7 until 2010 – €500 million – with the possibility of releasing up to an additional €500 million after an evaluation process.
The Parliament has meanwhile stressed that no FP7 funds should contribute to the establishment or administrative costs of the European Institute of Technology. Only administrative costs directly associated with research projects may be covered.
Budget
The overall budget planned for the 7th Framework Programme in the 2007-2013 Financial Perspective is €54 582 million in current prices. Of this, €50 521 million is for the European Community programme and €2751 million for the Euratom programme, which runs from 2007 to 2011. A further €1310 million is indicatively planned for the Euratom programme for 2012-2013 but this will need to be confirmed at a later stage. (all figures in EUR million)
Parliament – compromise with Council (13.11.2006)
Council Common Position (September 2006)
Cooperatio
32413
32365
- Health
6100
6050
- Food,
Agriculture and Fisheries,
Biotechnology
1935
1935
- Information and Communication
Technology
9050
9119
- Nanociences, Nanotechnologies
and new Production Technologies
3475
3500
- Energy
2350
2300
- Transport (including Aeronautics)
4160
4180
- Socio-economic
Sciences and the Humanities
623
610
- Security
1400
1350
- Space
1430
1430
Ideas
7510
7460
People
4750
4728
Capacities
4097
4217
- Research Infrastructures
1715
1850
- Research for the
benefit of SME
s
1336
1336
- Regions of Knowledge
126
126
- Research Potential
340
370
- Science in society
330
280
- Coherent development
of research policies
70
70
- Activities of International Cooperation
180
185
Non-nuclear activities
of the Joint Research Centre
1751
1751
TOTAL
50521
50521
Rules for participation
Parliament also adopted a codecision report (first reading) by Philippe Busquin (PES, BE) on the implementing rules for participation of undertakings, research centres and universities in activity under the Seventh Framework Programme. Here too a first-reading compromise has been reached between rapporteur, shadow rapporteurs and the Council, the main aim of which is to simplify the rules.
Press:
Constanze CKERHOFF
Press Service – Press Officer
Telephone: (32-2) 28 44302 (BXL)
Mobile: (32) 0498.983.550
Richard FREEDMAN
Press Service – Press Officer
Telephone: (32-2) 28 41448 (BXL)/ (33-3) 881 73785 (STR) /+32(0) 498 98 32 39
REF.: 20061129IPR00712

European companies have adjusted their investment strategies to place greater emphasis on research and development, a Commission survey indicates.

The recent survey asks European companies how they see their investment in research and development to progress over the next three years, and respondents indicated that they are planning a much greater increase of R&D investment than in the past.
The report shows that, on average, companies plan to increase their investment in research 5% per year over the next three years. That is in stark contrast to present investment strategies. Current figures contained in the 2005 Scoreboard show that R&D investment increased just 0.7% in 2003-2004.
The survey is the first of its kind giving researchers and policy makers reliable figures of R&D prospects across the EU and across different industry sectors.
The survey, carried out by Seville based JRC think tank The Institute for Prospective Technological Studies as part of the Industrial Research & Innovation Action polled 449 companies from all across Europe operating in ten different industries. The Commission received responses from some of the most important European industry sectors including: automobiles, chemicals, electronics, engineering machinery, food producers, health, IT hardware, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, among others.
The companies who responded to the survey represent nearly €30 billion worth of investment, a significant portion of privately funded research found in Europe.
“If we are to reach our objective of investing 3% of GDP in research and development, we need increased investment by the private sector,” said Janez Potocnik, European Commissioner for Science and Research, in a statement. “For this reason the results of this survey are encouraging. We need to maintain and reinforce our efforts at European and national level to make Europe an attractive place for companies to carry out their research. The Commission will be coming forward with some more ideas in this area in autumn 2006.”
One significant difference between FP7 and previous programmes is to encourage greater participation by the private sector in investing in European R&D.
The main reasons for increasing R&D investment include changes in market demand for new products and services, changes in technological opportunities, and changes in company turnover or profit.
When deciding where geographically to place their investment money, industry representatives indicated that access to markets proved to be the deciding factor. Other reasons influencing decisions on where to invest were high availability of researchers, access to specialised R&D knowledge and results, macroeconomic and political stability, and R&D cooperation opportunities.
Despite much ink being spilled during the recent EU enlargement phase about the outsourcing of jobs to the east, labour cost for researchers proved to be of lesser importance. In terms of investing in research personnel, companies seem to understand that quality has a price.
The report also shows that companies prefer to keep investment in their home countries. Germany is the most popular hub for European R&D, followed by the United Kingdom and France. When research is outsourced beyond EU borders, the US is by far most popular, with China a distant second and India coming in third.
Clearly some sectors are expecting to invest more than others. According to the report, of the 449 companies responding to the survey, those from the pharmaceuticals/biotechnology and chemicals sectors represent 60% of the total investment, or around €18 billion.
If such rosy figures are to be believed, for the first time in several years European R&D is expected to do at least as well as that in the United States. The report warns against reading too much into the data, however, saying it is possible that only those companies planning large investment may have responded to the survey, skewing results.
The engineering and machinery sector stands to see the largest percentage increase over current investment. The report shows that over the next three years investment there could be augmented by up to 12% p.a.
The EU Survey on R&D Investment Business Trends was carried out by the European Commission as part of the Commission‘s Industrial Research Investment Monitoring (IRIM) project.
(Source Europa)

Through the analysis of European satellite imagery, researchers estimate 2006 crop yields to be lower than last year. Scientists have determined that the total area affected by the prevailing drought and heat waves is growing.

It appears Europe‘s farmers will have to ready themselves for a lighter harvest for a second year in a row. The Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission released updated assessments of European crop yield figures for 2006 indicating a probable decrease in production. This year‘s total cereal production is expected to reap 9 million tonnes, a 3.6% drop compared to last year‘s figures.
According to the report produced by The Institute for the Protection and the Security of the Citizen of the JRC, those countries most affected by the lower than expected yield are Germany, Poland, UK, France and Italy. In terms of individual crops, Poland and Italy stand to lose the most with a 13.4% loss for soft wheat and 25.3% loss for sugar beets respectively. The only crop projected to do better this year than last is durum wheat, with a potential increase of 2%.
These results come from the Commission-funded Crop and Yield Monitoring Action also known as MARS STAT (Monitoring Agriculture with Remote Sensing techniques) project. MARS STAT activities are now part of the AGRIFISH Unit of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the Commission, after being merged with the FISHREG action in June 2004.
The MARS-STAT project originated in 1988 as a way to apply developing satellite technologies to crop areas and yields. Throughout the years it has expanded to provide data concerning efficient and effective management of the EU‘s Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), (MARS-PAC Action), foreign aid programs (MARS-FOOD), as well comparable data for the fishing industries. It helps with decision making at the European level by providing lawmakers with the most accurate data available. MARS STAT during FP6 received a budget of around €1.5 million.
The loss in the year‘s output can be attributed to the July heat waves and the continued drought plaguing most of Europe. Current harvest expectations are below the 2001-2005 averages, though not as severe as the conditions experienced during the particularly devastating heat wave in summer 2003. This year‘s harvest is expected be 7% larger than what was collected after that scorching summer.
Even though total yield is above the 2003 numbers, the geographic area affected by lower crop production has increased. This is due to regions in the higher latitudes being hit by higher temperatures earlier in the season when winter crops are in their most sensitive stages of development, i.e. ripening and maturity. However, water shortages didn‘t arrive until later in the year, so overall loss of production is less severe.
Dry conditions also lead to the depletion of water reservoirs and affected permanent forage areas. In response to the ongoing drought, the Commission has exceptionally voted to allow farmers in the most affected regions to open land for feeding where it is normally not permitted.
MARS technology has also proven to be effective outside of crop forecasting. For example, satellite images can also be used in enforcing antifraud initiatives. If a farmer receives subsidies for agreeing not to plant crops in order for natural habitat to take root, MARS can verify if he is indeed holding up his end of the bargain. Such information is useful for politicians when trying to optimise allocation of benefits. Specific techniques used by MARS to monitor crop and yield activity include: agro-meteorological models (Crop Growth Monitoring System – CGMS), low resolution remote sensing methods and area estimates using high resolution data combined with ground surveys.
(Source Europa)

The Microsoft Virtual Earth Platform is an integrated set of services that combines unique bird’s eye, aerial, and satellite imagery with best-of-breed mapping, location and search functionality. It enables businesses to deliver innovative solutions and breakthrough customer experiences.

Author: Mark Cattini
The high-speed growth of our industry in the last few years shows that the “location intelligence” story is still finding many new readers and listeners. This, of course, is not news to readers of Directions, but “where” is an absolutely critical factor in strategic and operational decisions in virtually all business and public sector organizations. Using economics, demographics, physical geography and other data pertaining to location can yield business insights of extraordinary value in fields ranging from financial services to wireless network planning. We are in a period of rapidly evolving market conditions and technological innovation, and achieving the promised increase in productivity depends upon the adoption of key standards.
When people first learn about geospatial technologies, they are typically amazed to see what a rich set of capabilities lies underneath those appealing maps on the computer screen. Our industry offers an extraordinary set of user-friendly tools for analyzing data and providing easy-to-understand representations of those data that show their underlying but hidden dynamics. Terms like “spatial database operations,” “proximity analysis,” “location-based services,” and “vector overlays on Earth images” are not part of the average person‘s vocabulary. But knowledgeable advocates of spatial intelligence don‘t need much time to show the average person how such capabilities can be applied in solutions to a wide variety of problems.
Organizations change when they begin to see the location components of their data as a hidden asset that can be applied broadly. Working with better intelligence means working more efficiently, providing better service and becoming more competitive. Employees who learn to “think spatially,” with geospatial tools at their fingertips, continue to find new ways to apply those tools and make better use of an organization‘s custom data.
But not all the data are in one place. Within even a relatively small enterprise, it is likely that different kinds of corporate data have been created using different systems, and the data are often stored in different systems. Also, many solutions require additional data that may need to be obtained from data vendors, government data suppliers or business partners.
Particularly with the advent of the Internet and the Web, users who need more data cannot be expected to be content with time-consuming bulk data acquisition and conversion. Consequently, we at MapInfo have worked with users and our competitors in the Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc. (OGC) for a decade to address the compelling need for direct communication between software products and online services, regardless of vendor, internal data format, operating system or system architecture. The OGC membership has developed standards – OpenGIS Specifications – that, when implemented in products, make it easy for users to extract the full geospatial value of corporate data stored, for example, in Oracle, DB2 or SAP systems. We have made it easy to integrate spatial capabilities with Web services that employ technologies like XML and Java.
All of this expands the market, of course, which benefits both vendors and users. Open geospatial standards enable new capabilities that no single vendor could invent and market. The OGC‘s “aggregation” of technology providers and major users in an open and formal consensus process makes the OGC the natural forum for initiatives such as the Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) and Geospatial Digital Rights Management (GeoDRM). SWE provides a comprehensive standards platform for Web-resident sensors and imaging devices of all kinds, making such devices and their live and archived data potentially discoverable and usable via standard Web technologies. GeoDRM provides a geospatial digital rights management framework that supports all varieties of for-fee and for-free data and service provision, a key requirement for National Spatial Data Infrastructure development.
The OGC also has an active working group that addresses the difficult but imperative harmonization of standards critical to industries involved in the planning, construction, sale and management of buildings and physical infrastructure: CAD, geospatial technologies, 3D visualization, building information models, and industry foundation classes. The richness of this activity and the increasing acceptance of OGC‘s open framework inspire vendors to innovate, specialize, invest in niche markets (whose standards-supported growth justifies the investment) and, in general, work harder to satisfy our customers.
Virtually all application domains have benefited from this progress. In government, for example, there is a longstanding and increasingly acute need for data sharing within and across agencies and jurisdictions, and with constituents. The cost of sharing and analyzing data from multiple sources and managing them across multiple platforms has finally started to go down, which will save taxpayers billions of dollars over the next few years. The critical requirement for interoperability is recognized and built into the Federal Enterprise Architecture and the Geospatial Enterprise Architecture. As “transactional Web Feature Servers” based on the OpenGIS Web Feature Service Implementation Specification come into wider use, even the thorny problem of semantic non-interoperability will become much less problematic.
The benefits of interoperability-leveraged location intelligence extend to retail, finance, health care, hotels, telecommunications, insurance, media, real estate, restaurants, supermarkets and many other markets. e-Commerce business models involving both desktop systems and mobile devices are rapidly incorporating location-based services that implement standards to draw on multiple online data stores and spatial Web services.
This is an exciting time to be involved in the geospatial technology market. Users and providers of these technologies are benefiting from rapid advances in computing power, bandwidth, storage and broadband wireless coverage. Data streams are multiplying in number and in volume as new sensor technologies and tagging technologies (from RFID to GeoRSS) gain traction in diverse markets, and also as organizations begin to mine the geospatial value of “ordinary” data, such as that produced by credit card transactions. The world is catching on to the importance of “where” in information systems. And many of the key standards that make all of this work together are becoming widely implemented, even as new standards are being developed to address new needs.
The call to action is simply this: Become aware of OGC‘s standards; be sure the products you buy implement them; use them in creating solutions; and if it makes sense for your organization, become involved in their continuing development.
(Source: Directionsmag)

On 19-22 September 2006, the WEU Assembly and the European Interparliamentary Space Conference joined forces to hold a colloquium on Space, Defence and European Security in Kourou, French Guiana, in association with the European Space Agency (ESA), France’s national centre for space studies, the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and Arianespace.

The event brought together over a hundred Members of Parliament from European nations along with Members of the European Parliament and senior executives from ESA, CNES, Arianespace and the space industry in Europe. The main aim of the discussions was to examine the space sector in its application to security and defence and assess industrial capabilities in the light of the challenges Europe faces at the present time. The participants noted the gulf between the strategic ambitions Europe had of its space dimension and the level of funds it was prepared to commit to it. There was a risk of Space Europe losing its head start.
The President of the Interparliamentary European Security and Defence Assembly (WEU Assembly), Jean-Pierre Masseret, emphasised the importance of Europe being able to draw on the full gamut of space-based facilities: Earth observation, telecommunications, intelligence, navigation and ballistic missile early warning systems, noting further that this comprehensive range of capabilities played a crucial part in preventing, managing and exiting crises, and would guarantee Europe genuinely autonomous powers of decision and action in security and defence matters.
The President of the European Interparliamentary Space Conference, François Roelants du Vivier, welcomed the fact of the colloquium being held in Kourou, in his view “not a moment too soon”. If Europe wanted to catch up with its main competitors in space, it needed to take the financial decisions that were necessary, and quickly! The vital necessity of the security and defence dimension being discussed at the colloquium was something that parliamentarians must seriously take on board in order to convince governments to invest massively in space – an area that has been far too long neglected.
The Director General of ESA Jean-Jacques Dordain felt that messages were being received from the conference that would constitute important inputs into the preparation, by the European Commission and ESA, of the European Space Policy, to be unveiled at the Fourth Meeting of the Space Council scheduled to take place in May 2007. Members of national parliaments and of the European Parliament had affirmed the strategic importance of space for the continent of Europe. In defining and implementing a European Space Policy, Europeans should build on present successes. There was a need to take feedback from users, consolidate technological and industrial capacities, maintain flexibility, strengthen coordination between the various parties involved and manage the evolution of space governance by stages. This was a challenge for everyone and one to which, with the commitment of all concerned, and in particular of the member states, Europe was quite equal.
For the President of the French Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), Yannick D’Escatha, Space had now become thoroughly interdisciplinary, and was consequently a key element of major European policies. He emphasised space’s special ‘dual’ contribution in virtually every field (military and civil) connected with people’s security and was adamant that Europe must take advantage of this dual-use aspect, in view of the differential between levels of investment in Europe and the United States (in a ratio of 1:6).
On the subject of access to space, the Director of Arianespace, the Chief Executive Officer of Arianespace, Jean-Yves Le Gall, pointed to the ever stronger position of the world leader in European launchers, with Ariane 5 especially, whose reliability and frequent regular launches had enabled Europe to put up the highest number of commercial satellites in 2005 and 2006. These high levels of activity in the worldwide commercial market had brought Europe the spin off of ready, reliable, guaranteed competitive access to space for sovereign missions by European governments.
In this respect, the European launcher programme was a model of the success of European integration in the service of security and defence, as the launches that had already taken place of 26 military satellites served to illustrate. Finally, the full range of launchers in use at the Kourou European Spaceport from 2008 – including Vega, Soyuz and Ariane 5, would mean that Europe was able independently to put a payload of any given weight into any chosen orbit.
For further information, please contact:
Fernando Doblas
Head of Communication Department,
ESA
Tél. : 00.33.1.53.69.80.28
(Source ESA)

The European Interparliamentary Space Conference was established in 1999 as a permanent forum for cooperation between the European national parliaments.

It aims to develop a continuing dialogue on space policy issues and support national governments and European institutions in their efforts to achieve a common European Space Policy for the maximum benefit of Europe‘s citizens.
Every year a conference is held in order to discuss issues relating to space exploration and utilisation. Apart from the members of national parliamentary space groups, representatives of the European Commission, the European Space Agency, national space agencies, industry and observers from other space-faring countries also participate in the conferences.
The EISC encourages closer cooperation between the European Commission, the European Space Agency, the member states of ESA and the European Union, national space agencies and experts from science and industry, with the aim of creating a permanent and effective mechanism for implementing and maintaining a true European space strategy.
The Assembly of WEU, Europe’s only interparliamentary security and defence assembly, was founded in 1954 when the 1948 Brussels Treaty was modified. It held its first session in 1955. The Treaty contains an unconditional mutual defence clause (Article V) and provides an organic link to NATO (Article IV). It also established the Assembly, to which some 40 countries send their parliamentary representatives.
These include all the EU member states and the European NATO countries as well as Russia, Ukraine and all the Balkan states. The Assembly scrutinises European intergovernmental activities in all areas of security and defence, including armaments cooperation. Following the transfer of WEU’s operational activities to the EU, the Assembly also serves as the interparliamentary platform for the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) on the basis of the parliamentary instruments for which the WEU legal framework makes provision.
email: press@assembly.weu.int
(Source ESA)

On 22 September 2006, the European Commission released the Thematic Strategy on Soil Protection to tackle soil degradation in the European Union.

In its document aimed at ensuring a sustainable use of soil, the European Commission pleads for the integration of soil protection in the formulation and implementation of national and Community policies.
Against this background, the European Commission proposed a framework Directive requiring Member States to identify, describe and assess the impact of some sectorial policies on soil degradation process with a view to protect soil functions.
Soil Protection is one of the European Policies to be addressed by GMES. Most particularly the land fast-track services will be a useful instrument to support aims and methods set out by this Thematic Strategy.

Valere Moutarlier explains how the European Commission’s ‘GMES Bureau’ is developing a federated and structured demand for Earth Observation (EO) data and information, and promoting fast-track GMES services for 2008.

“The primary objective of the GMES Bureau is to ensure the delivery of fast track EO services by 2008,” explains GMES Bureau Head Valere Moutarlier. “To do so, we first have to get all of the potential users of these services to come together, to create a federated demand, starting within the Commission itself.”
The structure of the Bureau is unique, gathering staff from the Commission’s Directorates-General for Enterprise and Industry, Research, Environment, Information Society, Agriculture, Rural Development, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, as well as the Joint Research Centre.
Speaking at the Bureau’s 1 June 2006 launch, Commission Vice-President Verheugen said, “Through its conceptual and technical expertise, the GMES Bureau can properly identify the needs and coordinate the GMES related activities of the whole Commission.”
Unique challenge, unique team
Moutarlier says the Bureau’s pan-Commission staff reflects its special role: “While we are a new unit within the Directorate-General for Enterprise, the Bureau was proposed jointly by Vice-President Verheugen, Research Commissioner Potocnik and Environment Commissioner Dimas. Our staff represents all users of GMES services within the European Commission.”
Moutarlier also says part of his role is being a good listener. “We have to remember that GMES is and should be a user-driven project and therefore we have to be receptive to the views and concerns of our partners and stakeholders. Our role is to nurture a spirit of pan-Commission and pan-European teamwork and exchange.”
Widening scope
Recognising the importance of GMES, the EU has set the goal of delivering operational and autonomous GMES services by 2008. These initial ‘fast-track’ services are to include land, marine and emergency response services. Three implementation groups are now busy developing draft guidelines for each of these three services, to be delivered by the end of 2006.
At the same time, the Bureau is also pushing forward on medium-term issues such as the GMES governance structure and longer-term financial sustainability. “Ultimately,” says Moutarlier, “the Bureau’s tasks will include developing proposals for managing GMES service provision beyond the Commission. This will include other EU institutions and bodies, Member States and intergovernmental organisations such as ESA, EUMETSAT, and EUSC.”
More information: * GMES website *
Valere Moutarlier +32 2 296 2162
(Source Europa)