EU rushes out next R&D program

The European Parliament last week gave a surprisingly fast go-ahead to the EU Commission's proposals for FP6, the sixth EU framework program for research and technological development (2002-2006). The swift decision will give the European scientific community, for the first time, more than six months to draft proposals before the program is put into force.

The vote was made possible after the parliament, the EU Commission and the EU Council reached an agreement under which the parliament's ITRE (industry, trade, research and energy) committee dropped previously tabled amendments and replaced them by 34 compromise amendments, which were voted on "en bloc." ...