Malta was the most successful state on a per capita basis in the EU research funding instruments which ran between 1998-2002 and 2003-2007 respectively and which are known as the Framework Programme 5 (FP5) and FP6.

The chairman of the Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST), David Spiteri Gingell said this yesterday during the official launch of the FP7, the e50 billion programme that will run from 2007 to 2013 with the aim of responding to Europe’s employment needs, competitiveness, quality of life and sustainable development.

In the opening speech, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said Malta has been fast in catching up in Research and Innovation (R&I) since joining the EU.

However, the union has slacked in its Lisbon Agenda commitment to allot three per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to R&I by 2010, as the Deputy Director-General of the European Commission Research Directorate General, Zoran Stancic, stated that in a best case scenario, the EU would achieve a 2.6 per cent allotment.

Dr Gonzi said Malta was keen to contribute towards the current drive to re-launch the European Research Area (ERA) initiative, which also took into consideration individual realities of different member states, including small states.

He added that the advancement of the Euro-Mediterranean R&I concept would create a new critical mass for R&I and North-South technology transfer.

Malta’s dependence on international collaboration in science and technology had led the government to focus more on business-oriented and industry-driven R&I.

Dr Gonzi affirmed that the government’s National Strategic Framework for R&I involved both supply-side and demand-side approaches and focused on four key-priority sectors: ICT, energy and the environment, value-added manufacturing and health/biotechnology.

“The government,” said Dr Gonzi, “has made strong efforts in recent years to strengthen R&I governance and institution and boost public funding as well as leverage private-sector funding.”

To this end, the government was planning to leverage public investments in R&I up to 0.75 per cent of GDP by 2010.

Currently, joint public and private investments make up 0.6 per cent of GDP.

According to Mr Spiteri Gingell, the seventh framework offered excellent opportunities to international consortia, local industries and knowledge institutions.

He added he was confident that Malta would be able to keep up its results obtained in the FP5 and FP6.

MCST Advisory Board chairman Dr Godwin Grima said the government’s reform process, which started last year, included the setting of targets in R&I which should be met by 2008 for government entities, setting up scholarships in ICT-related areas as well as in bio-health and environment technologies.

Dr Stancic urged local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and scientific institutions to take advantage of the opportunities given under the programme.