(2004/C 78 E/0496)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3141/03

by Koenraad Dillen (NI) to the Commission

(23 October 2003)

Subject:   European week against cancer — scientific research

To mark the annual European week against cancer, the European Commission has announced that a number of new projects have been selected for grants from the Sixth Framework Research Programme. The Commissioner responsible for research, Philippe Busquin has issued a statement saying that over the next few years the EU plans to invest EUR 400 million in cancer research. In the first instance 19 projects will receive a sum of approximately EUR 100 million.

Which are the 19 projects concerned and what is the amount of the grant that each of them will receive?

In which Member States will the projects be carried out?

On the basis of what criteria were the projects selected? What is the grant application procedure for firms and research centres?

When grants are allocated for scientific research is a geographical quota applied to ensure that research centres, universities and companies from all Member States have equal access to the funds available?

Answer given by Mr Busquin on behalf of the Commission

(1 December 2003)

As a result of the first call for proposals of the Programme ‘Life Sciences, genomics and biotechnology for health’ (deadline March 2003) within the ‘combating cancer’ area, 19 projects were selected for funding for an overall Community contribution of EUR 100 million.

The selected projects, which are still currently under contract negotiation, are undertaken by large, multidisciplinary and multinational consortia including academia, industry, research organisations and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from the Member States as well as associated states, candidate countries and, in some cases, third countries. The titles of the selected projects, the countries of the participants as well as the Community proposed budgetary contribution, are shown in a table which will be sent direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament's Secretariat.

The evaluation and selection of proposals is carried out, with the assistance of independent experts, in compliance with the ‘Guidelines on proposal evaluation and selection procedures’, as foreseen in the ‘Rules for the participation of undertakings, research centres and universities in the implementation of the Sixth Framework Programme’ (1).

The evaluation process rests on a number of established principles such as quality, transparency, equality of treatment, impartiality, efficiency, speed and ethical considerations.

Applications received as a response to the calls for proposals are evaluated according to obligatory criteria:

Participation in the Sixth Framework Programme is based on the principle of equal access and the eligibility criteria as established in the rules for participation. Therefore, no quota system is applied, but the evaluation and selection procedures are based on independent ‘peer review’ and ‘excellence’ irrespectively of geographical origin or type of participant.

Research institutions, study centres, industry and SMEs are main target groups of the Sixth Framework Programme. Practical rules for application and eligibility criteria are outlined in the calls for proposals and are available at the Cordis website of the Sixth Framework Programme (http://fp6.cordis.lu/fp6/home.cfm). Two further calls for proposals in the area of combating cancer will be launched in 2004-2005.

(1)  Regulation (EC) No 2321/2002 of the Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2002 concerning the rules for the participation of undertakings, research centres and universities in, and for the dissemination of research results for, the implementation of the European Community Sixth Framework Programme (2002-2006), OJ L 355, 30.12.2002.