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Wednesday, November 22, 2006

EU and South Korea sign science & research agreement

Today in Brussels, the European Union and the Republic of Korea sign two cooperation agreements, one on science and technology (S&T) and one specific to fusion energy research. The S&T agreement will promote collaboration in areas where EU and South Korea have similar priorities, such as life sciences (biotechnology and health research), information society technologies and telecommunications, industrial and materials technologies, sustainable development, renewable energy sources, satellites and earth observation. The fusion energy research agreement will complement the ITER agreement signed yesterday in Paris, and promote the joint implementation of research and technological development activities to accelerate the development of fusion energy as a clean and sustainable energy source for the 21st century.

The Agreements will be signed today by Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potočnik, Finnish Minister for Trade and Industry Mauri Pekkarinen, representing the Council presidency and Korean Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Science and Technology Kim Woo-shik.

Korea is a very important partner for Europe in the area of science and technology. Korea already invests a lot in research - around 3% of GDP annually is spent on R&D. Considering the importance of science and technology for economic and social development in Europe and Korea, both parties expressed the desire to upgrade and intensify their co-operation in areas of common interest.

The S&T Agreement is based on the principles of mutual benefit, reciprocal opportunities for access to each other’s programmes and activities relevant to the purpose of the Agreement, non-discrimination, the effective protection of intellectual property and equitable sharing of intellectual property rights. It is signed for an initial period of five years and may be renewed, subject to the recommendation of an external independent evaluation carried out during the penultimate year of the Agreement.

The fusion energy agreement signed today will promote collaboration in fusion research programmes to complement to the international fusion energy project ITER, to which both the EU and South Korea are parties. The construction of the ITER facility will last ten years, during which all ITER Parties will carry out a dynamic accompanying research programme, in order to prepare for ITER exploitation, maximise the return from the investment in ITER, and develop the advanced technologies needed for future power plants.

The EU aims to have similar agreements with all ITER Parties. This agreement joins those already in place with the USA, Russia, and Japan and is expected to be followed by similar agreements with China and India.

For further information on ITER:
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/1608&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=fr

Source  European Commission

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