The Health Effects Institute
"A Partnership of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Industry"
Joint WHO/HEI Meeting on Particulate Air Pollution
Brussels, Belgium
6 and 7 March 2001
Opening Comments by Dr Bruno Hansen, European Commission, DG Research
'EU Research Programmes and Research on Health Effects of Air Pollution'"Ladies and Gentlemen,
I too would like to welcome you to Brussels on behalf of the European Commission and particularly of the Directorate General of Research. It is a great pleasure to see so many of you here and have the opportunity to outline to you some aspects of the EU research policy and how research on health effects of air pollution fits into the overall policy aims of the Commission.
The EU has played a major role through successive RTD Framework Programmes, in supporting and developing European research excellence across a very broad range of topics including health effects of environmental pollution.
As many of you will know, the current 5th RTD Framework Programme is divided into 4 ‘Activities’, as this illustrates. The first of these is ‘Thematic Research’, where the Quality of Life Programme, and more specifically the «Environment and Health» Key Action, provides support for health effects research.
I am therefore very happy to see here today, many of the project co-ordinators of EU supported projects, both from the 4th and 5th RTD Framework Programmes, either as speakers or to present posters. I think this is just recognition of the quality of the work that they have achieved, or are currently undertaking, and it gives me further grounds for optimism that the EU is continuing to support leading edge research, relevant not only to policy concerns but also of real concern, and relevance to the European citizen.
Perhaps one of the most successful and well-known projects supported under the 4th Framework Programme, was the APHEA (Air Pollution and Health, European Approach) project which has just recently drawn to a close. Professor Katsouyanni will be telling us more about the results later this morning, but it clearly demonstrates the effective linkage of research efforts across Europe to produce results relevant to policy and to the concerns of society more generally.
Under the 5th Framework Programme it is perhaps a little early to be talking about impacts, and yet already the structuring effects of European collaboration, managed in such a way as to draw out synergies between individual research projects - a «clustering» effect – is helping to bring a more coherent scientific input within the context of the CAFE (Clear Air For Europe) policy initiative.
EU research support has traditionally been primarily focussed on supporting European researchers investigating European issues. Increasingly, however, the major research challenges are being seen as global, rather than solely European research issues, reflecting the scope and complexity of modern society and the challenges we face. No issue could illustrate this better than the health implications of air pollution. The transnational nature of pollution requires that we are «good» neighbours– the global interconnection of markets (such as for cars) requires agreement and acceptance of common aims and objectives for such things as emissions and pollution controls.
We are therefore delighted to take this opportunity to further strengthen the links between our research efforts with those of the WHO and with the Health Effects Institute. This type of initiative is very much in line with our research policy strategy.
In January last year the Commission adopted the «European Research Area» as developed by Philippe Busquin, European Commissioner for Research. I hope that many of you, particularly those of you based in Europe, will already be familiar with the aims of ERA. However, I would like to recap briefly the reasons for ERA and what the ERA will try to achieve.
Based on an analysis of research in Europe, we can see that current EU research modalities are reaching their limits and that there is a need for faster and more flexible mechanisms to support research and to link more effectively with national research actions. In short, there is a need not only for funding but for new initiatives to address the underlying structural weaknesses of European research.
The aims of this new policy initiative are:
"to create conditions making it possible to increase the impact of European research efforts by strengthening the coherence of research activities and policies conducted in Europe"
"to lay the foundations for a new contract between European citizens and science and technology by putting research back at the heart of society and subjecting its applications to informed political debate, as befits their social implications"
So what of the future for Community support for air pollution health effects research? For the coming 2 years support will continue to be available under the fifth Framework Programme. Calls for proposals will take place in 2001 and 2002, closing in March in both years. Obviously the number of proposals we are able to fund will depend on the quality of the proposals we receive and the budget available. But we confidently expect, on the basis of past results, that there will be a significant number of new ‘air quality, health effects’ research projects selected and that these will bear fruit, in terms of results, from 2003 and beyond.
To emphasise this point, importance will continue to be placed on air pollution and potential health effects in the Work Programme for the «Environment and Health» Key Action 2001. Furthermore, priorities are reviewed annually and, later this year, we will be considering the priorities for 2002. These priorities will be influenced by a number of factors: policy needs; the portfolio of existing projects being supported; and very significantly by expert advice which the Commission services receive. The outcome of this Conference – which has the clear objective to address outstanding scientific questions for the next 2-3 years and to identify Key Scientific questions relevant to regulatory policy- may play a significant role in influencing priorities for the Key Action
Moving further ahead, we are in the early staged of developing the next EU RTD Framework Programme. This Framework Programme should run from 2002 to 2006 (with the first projects being started in 2003), providing the means to further establish the European Research Area. Research priorities will be focused on a smaller number of areas but where the European added value will be greatest. Powerful new modalities will need to be introduced in order to build and exploit the European research talents and to effectively improve the linkage to national research programmes across Europe.
As I have indicated we are at an early stage in this process. However, the first very significant step has already been taken. Just a few days ago, on 21st February 2001, the Commission put forward its proposal for the Sixth Framework Programme. This proposal will be considered by the Member States and the Council and by the European Parliament. Consultations will be broad and some elements of the Programme will no doubt be modified.
However, 7 thematic priority areas have been identified:
- Genomics and biotechnology for health
- Information Society technologies
- Nanotechnologies, intelligent materials, and new production processes
- Aeronautics and space
- Food safety and health risks
- Sustainable development and global change
- Citizens and governance in the European knowledge-based society
The particular significance of the Commission’s proposal for this Scientific Community is that we see provision for a level of continued support for environmental health effects research under the ‘Food safety and health risks’ priority.
The broad targets of this priority include:
- "effects and exposure to small doses, as well as the impact environmental health risks, with emphasis being placed on cumulative risks, transmission routes to human beings, long-term on particularly sensitive groups, and especially children."
This will foster the continued development of new research collaborations and linkages across Europe; and a recognition of the role that research can play in the development and implementation of environmental policies for Europe and beyond.
With this, I too would like to welcome you again to Brussels and to this Conference and look forward to the successful achievement of the Conference objectives which I hope will provide us with a significant input to the determination of our research priorities in this area.
Thank you.
"
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