Western Balkans

*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

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News archive - Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnology as a Priority Area in FP7

The Specific Programme Cooperation of the Seventh Framework Programme on RTD (FP7) includes the theme 'Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnology' (FAFB). In this area the European Commission addresses the following needs:

Growing demand for safer, healthier, higher quality food
Sustainable use and production of renewable bio-resources
Increasing risk of epizootic and zoonotic diseases and food related disorders
Threats to the sustainability and security of agricultural, aquaculture and fisheries production
Increasing demand for high quality food, taking into account animal welfare, rural and coastal contexts and response to specific dietary needs of consumers

On December 22, 2006 two calls were published in FAFB, creating the possibility to submit project proposals for academic and industrial researchers, as well as for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and programme managers/owners:

The Call FP7-KBBE-2007-1, the deadline for project proposal application being May 2, 2007, addresses participants from the Western Balkan countries. The research areas are the following:

Sustainable production and management of biological resources from land, forests and aquatic environments
Fork to farm: food (including sea food), health and well-being
Life sciences, biotechnology and biochemistry for sustainable non-food products and processes
National Contact Point network

Requirements for participation and the minimum number of participating legal entities are dependant on the funding scheme, as set out in the respective 'Guide for Applicants'.
There is a significant list of research areas for Specific International Cooperation Actions (SICAs), some of which address all International Cooperation Partner Countries (ICPCs), while others specifically address the Western Balkan countries!
The following research topics require participants particularly from Western Balkan countries:

FP7-KBBE-2007-2-1-02: Developing research tools for food consumer science in the Western Balkan countries
FP7-KBBE-2007-1-4-05: Enlargement network - agro-economic policy analysis of the Accession and the Candidate States and the Western Balkan countries
FP7-KBBE-2007-1-4-10: Containment of Sharka virus in view of EU-expansion

The Call FP7-ERANET-2007-RTD, the deadline for application being July 31, 2007, is also open for ICPCs, including the Western Balkan countries. Eligible partners for these specific ERA-NET actions are programme managers and programme owners, i.e. legal entities which finance or manage publicly funded national or regional programmes.
The research areas are the following:

Sustainability of all production systems: plant health and crop protection: ERA-NET for coordination of agricultural research in the Mediterranean
Optimised animal health, production and welfare: ERA-NET for coordination of European research in the area of animal health

This ERA-NET scheme aims at developing and strengthening the coordination of national and regional research programmes, i.e. networking research programmes at a regional and national level, with a view to their mutual opening and the development and implementation of joint activities.
The minimum number of participants in ERA-NET consortia is three independent legal entities from different Member States or Associated Countries. After fulfilment of these minimum criteria, all ICPCs (including Western Balkan countries) can participate in this scheme. The FP7 NCP network, FP7 contacts in third countries and the specific projects set out below offer support.

Article published in eJournal winter 06/07.
__Author: Elli Tzatzani-Stepanovic, FFG