The Chief Scientist at TMT, Dr. Eli Ofer: The European Union's proposal is an expression of confidence in Israeli industry and technology
Dr. Eli Ofer, the chief scientist at the Ministry of the TMT, went to Brussels for the meetings of the joint committee for Israel and the European Union. The Israeli side participated in the committee, representatives of the Higher Education Council (the planning and budgeting committee of the Council for Higher Education) and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Finance and Science. The heads of the research office participated from the European Union. During the committee's deliberations, the Israeli representatives received an invitation for Israel to join the European Union's Seventh Framework Program - the largest research and development program in the world.
It should be noted that Israel joined the European Framework Program as early as 1996 in the middle of the Fourth Plan and was a full member in the Fifth Plan and the Sixth Plan as well. The current program, the sixth, started operating in 2003 and will end in 2006, the total budget of the program is 19 billion euros. Israel's "entrance ticket" to the sixth plan cost about 200 million euros. The price of the ticket is determined, among other things, considering the national product.
It should also be noted that the seventh plan is even bigger and more ambitious than its predecessors. According to the plans of the European Commission, the program is expected to continue for 7 years with a budget of 10 billion euros per year and a total of 70 billion euros (more than 90 million dollars). The program will deal, among others, in the fields of communication, nanotechnology, biotechnology, software, food, agriculture, transportation and energy. Special emphasis will be given to space and security issues.
The chief scientist, Dr. Eli Ofer, said that the seventh plan and other plans that are taking shape in the European Union are leading a significant move whose purpose is to double the European investment in research and development. The goal that the leadership of the Union has set for itself is an investment of 3% of GDP in research and development.
Ofer further stated that membership in the program allows Israeli industry to be exposed to the most advanced R&D programs in the world and to the knowledge that is vital to the advancement of the industry and its positioning at the forefront of global technology. Ofer added that thanks to the connections and collaborations in R&D created as a result of the activity in the program, new markets for their products and business opportunities have opened up for the Israeli companies.
Ofer: "The EU proposal is an expression of confidence in Israeli industry and technology."
Marcel Staun, director of ISARD - the coordination administration for the framework program, said that following the invitation to join the seventh plan, the official negotiations on Israel's accession will begin soon. The negotiations will be managed by a special team made up of representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Foreign Affairs and Science. During the negotiations, the details of the program, its suitability to the needs of Israeli industry and academia, and the price of the "entrance ticket" will be examined.
