Luxembourg – 16 June 2005

Luxembourg Presidency Workshop - Simplification and accessibility within FP7
Luxembourg – 16 June 2005

Minister, Members of the Court of Auditors,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all, allow me to say how pleased I am that we have this opportunity to meet today under the Luxembourg Presidency to discuss simplification and accessibility within the Seventh Framework Programme.

By now you will all be aware of the depth of my own commitment to encouraging greater participation in the Framework Programmes, above all by simplifying access for all participants in European research. I also intend to look in this context at the issue of acceleration, and ensure that all stages of the project life cycle are handled in the most efficient and least time-consuming way.

The world of science, research and innovation refuses to stand still; it is constantly changing, and we have to change with it. If we don’t move in step with the development of knowledge, we will be left behind, Europe will be left behind. This means constantly reviewing our practices and not changing them for the sake of change, to complicate lives, but making changes where they accelerate things, simplify things, and give results.

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The working paper which accompanied our proposals for the Seventh Framework Programme on 6 April set out a range of measures aimed at achieving simplification, and highlighted its importance as a “critical success factor”. It is essential to ensure at this stage that these proposals meet the needs and interests of all concerned and that, where necessary, we enlist your support to go further.

To this end I particularly welcome the participation of representatives from the Member States and Associated States in this workshop, and it is a pleasure to welcome you here today.

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In addition, the representatives of the Court of Auditors, who have very kindly offered us their premises and support, will have an active role in the discussions that will take place during the course of the workshop.

Last, but certainly not least, I am particularly concerned about the role and access of smaller players in FP7. It was for this reason that I called for the establishment of a Sounding Board of smaller actors in research actions. Many of the members of that Board are here today and I have no doubt that they will identify their particular concerns in the working groups this afternoon and tomorrow and help find a constructive way forward.

FP7 and the Financial Perspectives

It is not by coincidence that this workshop comes at a key moment for the research Framework Programme. Following the adoption of the Commission’s proposal for the FP7 in April, we are now looking ahead to September when we will present our proposals for the Specific Programmes and the Rules for Participation.

Whilst I have been very encouraged by the positive reception that our proposals for the Seventh Framework Programme have had so far, and in particular by the strong backing we have received for our proposal to double the R&D budget from the European Parliament, unfortunately the proposal of the Luxembourg Presidency for the Financial Perspectives, being discussed in Brussels today, if adopted, will make it far more difficult for us to fully attain our objectives in the field of research. However, if we cannot double our funds, we have to double our efforts – and in particular on simplification.

This being said, one encouraging message from the Luxembourg Presidency proposal is the explicit reference to the aim of ensuring excellence as well as a fair and balanced access to the 7th Framework Programme, which goes right to the heart of our debate today.

In the debate on the Financial Perspectives we have now arrived at a moment of truth for our efforts to build the knowledge economy, and for the Lisbon strategy in general and all indications are that the Council intends to reinforce its support for the past rather than investing in the future.

I do not have to convince you of the importance of research and innovation in attaining the Lisbon goals, neither do I have to convince you of the importance of the Seventh Framework Programme to that process. All of us in this room are committed to ensuring the success of a durable, dynamic and long-term European research funding programme.

Whatever the outcome of the discussions on the Financial Perspectives at the European Council – and this does not look good - our challenge will be to make it the best Framework Programme possible.

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What must we do to achieve this?

Working paper on simplification

First we must ensure that the procedures used for participating in the Framework Programme are as efficient and user-friendly as possible.

In the past, participating in the framework programmes has sometimes proved to be a complex process but I am convinced that much can be done to simplify procedures and thereby enhance accessibility. This will be a major part of our focus over the next two days.

At the same time, one of my key commitments is to ensure that FP7 will be open and accessible for all: big or small entities, private or public institutions - we need them all to contribute to European research, development and growth. We must therefore ensure that efforts to promote maximum accessibility are also part of our work here.

The backdrop to our work will be the working paper on simplification that accompanied our proposal for the seventh Framework Programme in April. It underlined the importance of three essential elements that must be borne in mind as we seek to achieve our aims:

• Flexibility – in order to provide the necessary tools to achieve FP7 objectives efficiently;
• Rationalisation - in order to establish a better balance between risks and controls, to avoid procedures, rules and requests that have little or no added value, and to reduce the time from proposal to project start; and
• Coherence – in order to clarify rights and obligations, to ensure consistent and user-friendly communication, to match objectives and means, and to take into account participants’ own practices and pre-existing rules as far as possible.

The simplification paper also set out ten concrete measures to guarantee high-quality and efficient implementation.

Ten concrete measures

1. A simple set of funding schemes which provide continuity with FP6 instruments but greater flexibility of use

This will give greater flexibility for the specific programmes, work programmes and the calls for proposals to specify the types of funding schemes appropriate to the actions they foresee.

2. Consistent, high-quality communication

Communicating effectively and unambiguously is essential to ensure easy and effective participation and avoid misunderstandings. During the course of this workshop, I would like you to keep in mind ways in which this communication can be improved in order best to meet the needs of stakeholders.

3. Rationalisation of requests for information from participants

Improved use of electronic data storage and central data banks by the Commission services will help to avoid repeated information requests and ease the burden for participants. The reporting requirements for projects will also be streamlined and improved.

4. Protecting the Community’s financial interest without imposing undue burdens on participants

The Financial Regulation, and indeed common sense, would say that good financial management of public money requires that certain risks be analysed prior to establishing an agreement to provide funds. At the same time, these assessments must be carried out in a rational, fair, and cost-effective way and without unduly burdening the participants. We must also try to extend the use of alternative ways of guaranteeing financial security.

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5. Full operational autonomy to be entrusted to consortia

Greater autonomy and flexibility of project implementation must be entrusted to consortia to achieve their project objectives under the best possible conditions. This would be accompanied by a strong audit strategy to combat fraud, and the continuation of penalties to act as deterrents.

However this greater autonomy must not mean that the smaller players are excluded from the consortium or squeezed into unacceptable situations. Training sessions for project coordinators and help-desks for project management issues should help to ensure that autonomy and flexibility do not have a negative impact on these actors.

6. Streamlining the selection process

The role of the Programme Committee must be to concentrate on the development and validation of work programmes and implementation policies, and not on the micro-management of approving each individual project. This would make it possible to reduce a number of internal procedures within the Commission and to reduce the time between the opening of negotiations and the beginning of the project work.

7. Most effective use of the research budget

We must be able to encourage high-risk projects with potentially high returns without compromising the sound financial management of the Community budget. If funds from unpromising projects can be made available to other research projects then we will have an increased ability to achieve this.

8. Increased use of flat-rate and lump sum financing

It is clear that greater use of lump sum financing for certain actions represents a simplification for the participants, as well as for the Commission.

9. Clarifying eligible costs

The definition of eligible costs could be simplified by eliminating complex cost-reporting models, and by taking into consideration, not only participants’ usual accounting principles, but also their usual management practices.

10. Simplified support rates

Simplified support rates per type of activity would also improve the way in which the Community contribution is calculated. Although the principles of non-profit and co-financing would continue to be applied at project level, a simple funding rule would be introduced to ensure that the same or more financing would be available as compared with an equivalent FP6 project.

Changes to the Financial Regulation

In seeking to implement these ten measures, it is clear that we must work within the legal and financial framework that will be established for the Seventh Framework Programme. Already some important changes to that framework relate to the proposals for the amendment of the Financial Regulation which applies to Community funding.

I am pleased to be able to tell you that the simplification paper’s proposals to increase the use of lump sum financing and to use research budget commitments more flexibly and effectively have both been incorporated into the Commission’s proposal for a revised Financial Regulation. If accepted by the other Institutions, these changes will go a long way to improving the way in which research projects can be financed and will provide more flexibility to the Commission and to users in managing their projects. We must now ensure that it goes through the legislative process successfully and I hope that I can count on your support for this.

As you know, much work has been carried out within the Commission to simplify procedures and processes under FP6, but improvements could only be made within the established legal and financial framework for that programme. Now we have the opportunity to review major elements of the framework for FP7 and to ensure that they meet the needs of all concerned.

Rules for Participation

Your work today and tomorrow will not, of course, focus only on the measures I have mentioned. Your input will also be important for the preparation of the Rules for participation that will establish the baseline for FP7 participants.

You will also therefore be addressing other issues that relate to the simplification of the Rules for Participation – issues such as Intellectual Property Rights and evaluation criteria – to provide us with your assessment, ideas and input.

Conclusion

Simplification is not just about making the procedures easier to understand, it is about cooperation between the European research community and the Commission, it is about training the people involved in the process, and it is about increasing mutual trust in working together for a common objective.

I look forward to you identifying concrete and effective ways and means to improve access to, and participation in, the Seventh Framework Programme. I am convinced that you will.

Allow me to be clear, however, that simplification will not end with this workshop. It is a continuous process, and I will be fostering the debate and consultations with stakeholders throughout the legislative process. Every detail of how we manage the framework programmes will be scrutinised in this context and we are open to your concrete suggestions as to how things can be improved within the constraints within which we are bound to work. Perhaps I can mention in this context that we will be opening up a portal on my website, linked to that of DG Research, where suggestions on simplification will be welcome.

We must all ensure that this process is a successful one, and that a Framework Programme to meet the needs of the greatest number of researchers can be adopted by the Council and the European Parliament in order for operations to begin in 2007.

Thank you for your attention, for your active participation, and for your support for the improvement and success of the Seventh Framework Programme.

Item source: Date: 16/06/2005 Previous Item Back to Titles

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