SPCI´99: Routti gives an overview of the R & D in Europe
Professor Jorma Routti from the European Commission held this morning a speech about Research and Development in a European perspective with reflection on the pulp and paper industry. The entry into the European Union by Austria , Sweden and Finland, has led to almost a doubling of the EU forest area and an increased importance of the forestry related industry. Pulp and paper is now an important sector for European Union and the turnover of the paper industry is of the size of the consumer electronics industry. Research activities have been funded by the European Commission for a long time. Since 1983 the research has been organised within Framework programmes. In each of the past Framework programmes, pulp and paper industry were covered. The new fifth Framework Programme has just started on 1st of January 1999. Priorities for the pulp and paper industry within the fifth Framework Programme. - Increased added value of the paper products.- Cost effective and environmentally acceptable production.- Clean and efficient processes.- Efficient and sustainable use of raw materials. - Optimization of recycling and new process technologies. The European Confederation for Pulp and Paper Industries, CEPI, as the main organisation representing the pulp and paper industry has been very active in putting forward its suggestions and priorities for the fifth Framework programme. Community Research in this sector has mainly been done in projects under different Specific Programmes, of which the main ones are those on Agriculture and Fisheries and on Industrial and Materials Technologies. In the just finished fourth Framework Programme som 100 projects are presently running related to the forestry, of which more than one third are directly dealing with pulp and paper research. The main areas addressed are clean and efficient processing and recycling technologies, as well as materials for products innovation. In the FAIR-programme, forestry and forest-based industry form a substantial part of the projects co-funded by the Commission under this programme. There are also some 30 forestry related projects, including several on pulp and paper research within the Brite-Euram III Programme. (Papernews, SPCI´99-news) (BMH)