Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-11-14-Speech-3-033"
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"en.20011114.2.3-033"2
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"Mr President, I will start by saying something about money. The EUR 17.5 billion are in my view insufficient, above all when you consider the ambitious goals that Europeans are always setting themselves. It is certainly far too little when you consider the imminent enlargement of the European Union. These funds are one day to be invested for 25 or even more Member States, and that is not enough. That, though, is how things are these days. I hope in any case that the Council will approve at least these EUR 17.5 billion, or else, and here I agree with Mr van Velzen, there will be trouble.
European research policy is very much seen in terms of participation in the research programmes. I want to vigorously urge the Commission to do everything possible to make the submission of applications and their processing easier, so that the researchers can spend their time on real research rather than on filling in forms.
My third observation is on fusion. We wrangle about this over and over again, and I respect the different opinions that are held on the subject. The only thing I cannot accept is that this research will not bear fruit for a very long time. We urge the young to start early on providing for old age, even though, from a young person's point of view, old age is a long, long way away. We are talking here about the same sort of provision. Whether a fusion power station is eventually built or not, is for those who come after us to decide. We should, however, give them the option.
I have always considered it very important that the European Union should concern itself with highly sensitive questions that had formerly been beyond our scope, for example, new methods of detecting and removing landmines. It is fortunate that we have had a programme of this sort within the European Union for a number of years, and it has achieved noteworthy successes. My heartfelt plea is that this programme should be continued, ambitiously developed and coordinated, if possible, by a single office within the Commission. I am thinking here of the Joint Research Centre, whose achievements to date deserve to be highlighted.
An attempt is similarly being made, incidentally, to involve European Union research in the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, be they nuclear, biological or chemical. I would remind you that the Commission will be making a statement this afternoon about the banning of biological weapons, which has to do with the fight against terrorism. In the former Soviet Union, today, there are still enormous stockpiles of biological and chemical agents that cannot be destroyed for lack of the necessary funds and often also of the necessary technology. This is an opportunity for the European Union to do something for the security of Europe and of the world.
As far as bioethics is concerned, I urge support for the proposal by the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy, which simply takes account of the different understandings of the law on this subject in the Member States, and we as European legislators cannot supplant the Member States on this point. Such a respect for sovereignty is reflected in this proposal."@en1
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