Turkish economy to benefit from EU 7th Framework program
Posted by meb at February 13th, 2007
State Minister Ali Babacan and TOBB president Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu participated in the EU 7th Framework program, Turkey Forum National Opening Conference in Ankara
ANKARA – Anatolian News Agency
Research is an important vehicle for Turkey’s integration into the European Union, said Jose Manuel Silva Rodriguez, the European Commission research director-general.
“We see that Turkey is ready when it comes to research and science,” said Rodriguez in his speech during the EU 7th Framework program, Turkey Forum National Opening Conference in Ankara.
The commission is ready to aid Turkey in an effective 7th Framework program, he said and added that research is a key element for growth and employment.
The EU will provide 2.6 percent of the total gross domestic product (GDP) for Turkey’s research expenses in 2010,” said Rodriguez and added that as of 2013, the EU will make an annual contribution more than 10 billion euros to the country’s research expenses. Not just the public but also the private sector needs to contribute to Turkey’s research expenses, said Rodriguez.
With this program, within the Lisbon Strategy, an action and development plan for the EU is aiming to increase Turkey’s ability to compete.
Turkey can boost its ability to compete by applying the 7th Framework Program, he said, adding that this program has a larger budget compared to previous ones.
State Minister Ali Babacan also spoke at the conference, organized by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBITAK), the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges University of Economics and Technology (TOBB ETÜ) and the Turkish Research and Business Organizations (TuR&Bo ppp)
Borders have been eliminated globally and competition has increased, said Babacan. Therefore, Turkey has to target a competitive and high value-adding industry, he said.
The Turkish economy can benefit a great deal from progress related to research and development, said Babacan.
Permanent competition is very important, he said, and stressed that the much needed permanent competition can only be provided by knowledge and high technology.
Research framework programs are the EU’s main financial and legal instruments to implement the European Research Area (ERA). ERA is now high on the policy agenda and is part of the strategy for meeting the goal of increasing investment to 3 percent of the EU’s total GDP by 2010 as laid out by the Barcelona Summit in March 2002. It is also a legal and political obligation stemming from the Amsterdam Treaty.
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