In 2004 the European Commission's Directorate General for Research launched two consultations on the 7th Framework Research Programme (FP7). At first, there was no mention of respiratory diseases in the FP7. The ERS and the National Respiratory Societies therefore set out to have respiratory diseases included in the 7th Framework Programme.

A year on, the DG for Research adopted a proposal for the next Research Framework Programme (FP7) that would run from 2007 to 2013.

Over the next year, the ERS and colleagues from the National Societies worked to get respiratory diseases mentioned in the FP7. In December 2006 the Council of Ministers of the Member States (ministers responsible for research or equivalent) and the European Parliament, following a co-decision procedure, finally adopted the Commission proposals, bringing a successful cooperation to a satisfactory conclusion.

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ERS/ ELF FP7 Statement

 FP7 statement sent to MEPs
The ERS and the European Lung Foundation (ELF) have asked Members of the European Parliament (MEP) to endorse the explicit inclusion of respiratory and allergic diseases in
the FP7. The amendment received broad political support of the European Parliament in its first reading and the plenary vote on 15 June.

The ERS and ELF asked MEPs for their continued support in the second reading for amendment 110 calling again for an explicit inclusion of "allergic and respiratory diseases" in the health theme of the FP7.

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ERS Position Papers

Further to the stakeholder consultation proposed in August 2004 on the future of guidelines for research policy, the Commission launched a second stakeholder consultation in early November 2004. The objective was to determine the main scientific domains for the 7th Framework Research Programme (FP7) proposal.

The ERS contributed to this consultation via a second position paper that specifically addressed the issues that DG for Research requested, to evaluate the importance of the scientific domains to be included in the FP7.

You can access the ERS Position Papers below, for consultation:

 Position paper of the European Respiratory Society on the consultation launched by the Commission on the thematic domains of the 7th Framework Programme of Research 

 Position paper of the European Respiratory Society on the consultation launched by the Commission on the Communication "Science and technology, the key to Europe's future - Guidelines for future European Union policy to support research"
 Further information on the consultation