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Suggested Citation:"Proceedings - Welcome." National Research Council. 1999. New Vistas in Transatlantic Science and Technology Cooperation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9455.
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Suggested Citation:"Proceedings - Welcome." National Research Council. 1999. New Vistas in Transatlantic Science and Technology Cooperation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9455.
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Page 12
Suggested Citation:"Proceedings - Welcome." National Research Council. 1999. New Vistas in Transatlantic Science and Technology Cooperation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9455.
×
Page 13

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Welcome Kenneth Shine President, Institute of Medicine On behalf of the National Academy of Sciences it is my pleasure to welcome you to our two-day conference on transatlantic science and technology (S&T) cooperation. As you know, the United States and European Union (KU) signed the U.S.-EU Science and Technology Agreement on December 5, 1997. We gather here to celebrate the agreement and to explore ways to build cooperation between the United States and the European Community and its member nations. We are very pleased that so many of you are able to join us here this morn- ing. As we get under way I want to extend a special welcome to our European friends, who traveled so far to be with us today. Let me recognize in particular: . John Cadogan, Director General of the Research Councils of the United Kingdom, who is here as representative of the U.K. Presidency of the European Union; · Jorma Routti, Director General for Science, Research, and Development in the European Commission; · Paolo Fasella, Italy's Director General for Research; and · Hugo Paemen, Ambassador of the European Commission here in Wash- ington, who is well known to all as the able representative of the Euro- pean Community. We also have a distinguished group of participants from the U.S. government whom I am pleased to recognize and thank for their participation today: . Mortimer Downey, Deputy Secretary of Transportation, whose leadership and energy are well known to the Academy; 11

2 WELCOME · Stuart Eizenstat, Under Secretary of State, who in his previous capacity as ambassador to the European Commission was instrumental in initiating this agreement; Melinda Kimble, Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs; Ray Kammer, Director of the National Institute of Standards and Tech- nology. We owe a special debt to Ray for his early support of the confer- ence and for his interest in transatlantic cooperation in science and tech- nology. And last but by no means least, Joseph Bordogna, Deputy Director of the National Science Foundation and a leading figure in U.S. science policy. The S&T agreement that we celebrate today is a major accomplishment and having a conference of this scale is an extremely promising beginning. It reflects, of course, like any good conference, the combination of interesting topics and people with the energy and commitment to make it work. Conferences do not just happen; they are put together with the cooperation of many people who are actively engaged in other professional activities. It is for this reason that, on behalf of the National Research Council, I want to extend our sincerest thanks to those of you who have contributed intellectually and financially to this conference. I especially want to thank the European repre- sentatives here in Washington: Phillipa Rogers of the British Embassy and the remarkably well-informed Patrice Laget and Pablo Amor of the European Com- mission delegation. While there are too many U.S. government representatives to thank personally, I would be remiss not to mention Admiral Gaffney of the U.S. Navy, whose interest in and support of the work of the Academy are deeply appreciated. We are here today to bring the agreement to life to infuse it with meaning so that the real work of S&T cooperation can get under way. First, we must recognize that there is ample scope for cooperation between the United States and the European Union. Indeed, given the transatlantic nature of this conference, it is perhaps worth underscoring just how much the United States and European Union spend on research and development (R&D). We all have our problems, but our economies are the drivers of science and innovation in today's world. For example: In 1995 U.S. firms spent $132 billion on industrial R&D, with $24 billion of that funded by the government. This was a 10 percent increase from 1994. While the United States leads the world in spending on industrial R&D, the gap between the United States and the European Union is declining.

KENNETH SHINE 13 In 1973 about 52 percent of the world's industrial R&D was performed by the United States, with 28 percent performed by the European Commu- nity. By 1995 the U.S. share had fallen to 46 percent, while the European Community's had risen to 30 percent. Together the United States and the European Union account for around three- quarters of the world's industrial R&D. This gives us a tremendous opportunity for mutually beneficial cooperation in science and technology. But we must choose carefully the areas in which we engage in cooperative S&T development. It is important to find the areas that are most likely to yield productive collabora- tion and concentrate our energies there. Then we must carefully manage the cooperative process, settling on well-defined goals, specifying timetables, and committing resources to create some of the world's best science and technology. This, by the way, is one of the best features of our conference. We are here to discuss and exchange our views regarding broader S&T policy objectives, but, importantly, we are not limited to that dimension. The conference is also de- signed to examine cutting-edge science and technology across a remarkably broad range of topics. These issues are of direct concern not only to our economies but also to the health and welfare of our citizens. Indeed, personally, I am pleased that the conference recognizes that we have more at stake than mutual gain for our economies. We have a responsibility to use our talents, our education, and our public and private resources to leave the world better than we found it. Communications technologies make the world a seemingly smaller place all the time. We can harness communications and computing technologies to create safe, efficient, and clean means of transportation. The continuing revolution in health sciences and biotechnology opens up new possibilities for protecting and maintaining human health. And as the fruits of science and technology create greater abundance for more people on our planet, we must also use science and technology to protect our planet from environmental degradation. As you can see from the agenda, we have two full and fascinating days ahead of us. We have the challenge in the near term to create a climate where transat- lantic S&T cooperation can flourish. With hard work and dedication, I am confi- dent we can meet the challenge. In the long term we have the equally formidable challenges of, first, sustain- ing cooperation and, second, harnessing science and technology for the greater good of the economies and societies of the United States and Europe. We must turn to each of these challenges with dedication and the optimism that our talents are equal to the tasks ahead. I wish you the very best, not only today and tomor- row but also for a new vista in transatlantic cooperation.

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The successful conclusion of the US-EU Agreement on Science and Technology Cooperation offers the prospect of a new chapter in transatlantic cooperation. As with any international agreement in science and technology, the accord's full potential will be realized only if it can encourage mutually beneficial cooperation. With this in mind, responsible officials of the European Union (EU) and the U.S. government contacted the National Research Council's Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP) to discuss how this negotiating success might be publicized and productively exploited. It was agreed that the STEP Board should organize a conference to celebrate the accord, inform the U.S. and European research communities of the agreement, and explore specific opportunities for enhanced cooperation. At the same time, the conference would provide the occasion to review existing and evolving areas of transatlantic cooperation in science and technology from the perception of the United States, the European Commission, and the member states of the European Union.

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