Government Social Research
A report in The Scientist of 8 June 2005 , says that a leading scientist has called on Europe's research community to speak out against proposals to substantially cut a planned increase [Scientist website] in the European Union research budget for 2007-2013 ahead of a key EU summit on June 16.
Helga Nowotny, head of the European Research Advisory Board (EURAB), an independent body advising the European Commission, called on scientists to support a push to double the research budget for Framework Programme 7 [Scientist website] (FP7), saying it was 'an absolute minimum target to accomplish the challenges for European research.'
Nowotny's appeal comes after Luxembourg, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, proposed slashing the planned doubling of the European Commission's research budget [Scientist website] by between 69% and 45%.
The proposed reduction in the research budget for FP7 comes after six countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Austria, and the Netherlands, said that national governments' payments to the European Union should be limited to 1% of total EU gross national income. The European Commission had asked for an increase to 1.24%, largely to fund extra spending on research. The compromise brokered by Luxembourg foresees a limit of 1.06 %.
The full report can be viewed on The Scientist website