EU and TURKEY – S&T POLICIES PERSPECTIVE

1. EU and TURKEY– S&T POLICIES PERSPECTIVE Prof. N. K. PAK Middle East Technical University Ankara, Turkey

2. Overview of S&T Policy of Turkeypast, present and planning for the future

3. The first attempts for policy formulations on science and technology have started in the first planned economic period (1963 - 1967) • The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) -Established in 1963

4. The basic policy in 1960’s and 1970’s: promotion of basic and applied research in natural sciences

5. In The Third Five Year Development Plan (1973-1977), for the first time: • the concept of “technology policy” has been mentioned • “integration of the technology policy with the industry, employment and investment policies and enhancing the technological abilities of certain industrial sectors” have been envisaged

6. The first detailed S&T document was prepared in 1983 with the contribution of over 300 experts and scientists, and this document; • explicitly recognized the role of technology for development • suggested broadly defined priority areas of technology • led to the establishment of a new institution: SUPREME COUNCIL FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (SCST)

7. The Supreme Council for Science and Technology (SCST) • Highest S&T policy making body • Chaired by Prime Minister / Deputy Prime Minister • Members: • Ministers (most closely concerned with S&T) • Undersecretaries (SPO, Treasury, Foreign Trade) • Presidents of Higher Education Council, Nuclear Energy Council, Union of Chambers of Commerce and Industry • President and Vice President of TÜBİTAK

8. TÜBİTAK functions as the general secretariat to the SCST and is responsible for • preparing the agenda of the Supreme Council • carrying out the preparatory studies • following up the implementations • evaluating the impacts of implementations

9. SCST in 1989-2002 • 1989 Inaugural meeting • 1993 Priority Areas of S&T / Industrial R&DSupport Program • 1997-2002 Significant developments / action plans / implementations

10. 1993 Policy Approach Strategic choice to acquire capabilities in science and technology, • not only to achieve excellence in scientific and technological research, • but also to turn scientific and technological findings into economical and/or socialbenefits.

11. Hence, the present S&T Policy of Turkey is based on the establishment of a National Innovation System

12. Outcome in ten years • Rank by the number of Journal Publicationc (SCI) 41(90):1177 25(00): 6074 • R&D realised by business enterprise 20.4%(90) 33.4% (00) • R&D financed by business enterprise 27.5%(90)  42.9% (00) • GERD in % of GDP 0.32%(90) 0.64% (00) • R&D personnel intensity per 10,000 labour force 7.5(90)  13.1 (00)

13. S&T Policy: Current Undertaking SCST Decision on 13 Dec. 2000 A new national S&T policy document for the period 2003-2023 is to be prepared to build a welfare society in 2023 (100’th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Turkish Republic): Vision 2023: Strategies for Science and Technology

14. TECHNOLOGY FORESIGHT TECHNOLOGY INVENTORY R&D MANPOWER R&D INFRASTRUCTURE • 2003-2023 STRATEGY DOCUMENT • S&T Vision • Strategic Technologies and R&D Priorities • Policy Recommendations Vision 2023 Period: Jan. 2002 - 2004

15. 2. Europe of Science It is extremely exciting to be talking about S&T as a leverage for creating a more harmonious and competitive Europe in a place not too far away from where science was invented some 2500 years ago. It is the most suitable subject to talk about in this context, because of the continuous nature of science across cultural boundaries.

16. The Ionian science anthiquity became the science of the muslims of yesterday and the science of the muslims became the science of Europe today, through generally continuous development and growth. There is neither a science of the West, nor an Islamic science. There is only one Science that wanders from cultur to cultur, and we are all heir to it, and are entitled to it.

17. Science has been uniformly progressive and has found a home in any culture where people have been prepared to listen to each other with a view to learning something and to criticize each other, with a view to finding a better common vantage point.

18. Thus, Science is the only truly uniting bond of all humans.

19. What do we mean by the word Europe? The continent is named Europe some 2500 years ago. The word Europe has been often used and misused, interpreted and misinterpreted. There have been many Europes:

20. Europe of Greek Mythology, • Europe of geographers, • Europe of Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, • Carolingian and Papal Europe, • Romantic and Gothic Europe, • Europe of the Renaissance,

21. Europe of Scientific Revolution; Europe of Industrial Revolution, • Europe of French Revolution, • Capitalist and Socialist Europe, • Europe of Communism and Fascism; Europe of World Wars, • Europe of US and Soviet hegemony, • Europe of the Six, the Nine, the Ten, the Twelve, the Fifteen.

22. As old conceptions are fading away, Europe is moving(?) towards a new type of definition determined by not only geographical, religious and cultural considerations. Many (I, for one) believe that universal values will hopefully prevail over narrow geographical, national, religious and cultural limitations, if Europe is to have a future.

23. 3. Turkey’s Integration With EU Out of the past 2500 years much or all of the place nowadays called Turkey, has been politically, economically and culturally and extension of Europe for roughly two-thirds of the time. Recall that in its declining years The Ottoman Empire was called The Half Sick Man of Europe, but not of another geography.

24. With the crystal clear decision in Helsinki in December 1999 the threshold has been passed; one can not turn the clock back. Turkey’s European credentials have already and repeatedly been established. In the Helsinki summit, after 40 years acquis between the two parties, it was explicitly declared that Turkey is destined to join the EU on the basis of the same criteria as applied to the others prerviously.

25. This has helped Turkey very much to evolve in the right direction, with economic, political and human-rights reforms. Nobody can say that putting these decisions in practice will be easy. Furthermore it is for sure that many Europeans will continue to oppose Turkey’s membership on cultural (and religious) grounds. I am afraid that this opposition may further intensify, if Turkish membership becomes a more imminent reality.

26. Turkey has a good claim to be a part of the Europe of history, ideas and economy, if not the Europe of formal geography. The Country was put on its present path towards European integration in the 1950’s, when She has joined the then OEEC, the NATO, and the Council of Europe. Turkey was among the first group of countries, in the post-WW2 period, joining all the movements of European integration.

27. In August 1959, only tow years after the signing of the Treaty of Rome, She presented her request to the EEC for a special associate status with the eventual goal of full membership. The negotiations between TR and EC began on September 28, 1959, but took two years longer than the Greek negotiations, culminating in the Ankara Asociation Agreement on September 12, 1963 ( something which is interestingly recommended to Turkey by G. d’Estaing in late 2002 on a par with Ukraine and Morocco ).

28. There are today about 4 million Turks living and working in Europe. They are increasingly becoming an important factor in the economies of the EU countries and Turkey, representing an organic link between Turkey and the Western Europe.

29. With the Turkey of 2010 the EU will gain not only a rich cultural diversity, but also a considerable manufacturing capacity, entrepreneurship, and better foreign/security policy outreach to the key regions of the world.

30. By throwing open its doors to TR, the EU has unequivocally accepted a frontier well beyond the borders of what used to be called Christendom.

31. To be frank, the real obstacle for membership to EU is economical. A very large part of the state budget is used up to pay the heavy depth off, and as a result little is left to stimulate production, as well as for education, health and infrastructure programmes. It has been attracting very little private foreign investment (FDI) without which (and domestic saving accumulation) it would be difficult for Turkey to catch up with Europe.

32. 4. Europe Competing for World Leadership The need for redesigned S&T policies became apparent after two consecutive oil crises in the 70’s, with efforts to this end gaining impetus world-wide after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and emerging new challenges brought along by the ICT revolution.

33. The new motto was the transformation to knowledge economy, and the new S&T Policy paradigm was the establishment of National Innovation Systems (NIS), whose key players are the firms.

34. Interestingly enough, there are striking similarities in their quest for the right policies for (at least) economic leadership of the world, for USA on one side, and EU on the other side.

35. In May 2, 1995 an advertisement was published in Washington Post, signed by a group of leading industrialists, including the presidents of GE, IBM, Chrysler etc. The following passage is taken from that text:

36. Unfortunately, today America’s technological prowess is severely threatened. As the federal government undergoes downsizing, there is pressure for critical university research to be slashed. University research makes a tempting target because many people aren’t aware of the critical role it plays.

37. It can take years of intense research before technologies emerge that can “make it” in the marketplace. History has shown that it is federally sponsored research that provides the truly “patient” capital needed to carry out basic research and create an environment for the inspired risk-taking that is essential to technological discovery.

38. Often these advances have no immediate practicalusability but open “technology windows” that can be pursued until viable applications emerge. Such was the case with pioneering university research done on earthquakes in the 1920s, which led over time to the modern science of seismology and the design of structures that better withstand earthquake forces.

39. Today, we, the undersigned -executives of some America’s leading technology companies- believe that our country’s future economic and social well-being stands astride a similarly ominous “fault line”.

40. We can personally attest that large and small companies in America, established and entrepreneurial, all depend on two products of our research universities; new technologies and well educated of scientists and engineers.

41. There was a more recent article published in Le Monde on 21 June, 2002 written by a group of high level European scientists, including three Nobel laureates, titled “Science in danger, Europe in peril”, addressing the issue of weak state of European research, and the increasing gap between the R & D in Europe and the USA or Japan.

42. The concerns, one from the leading industrialists of the USA, and the other from the leading scientists of Europe are almost identical.

43. Frank Biancheri, the Director of strategic studies- Europe 2020, as a follow-up to this Le Monde article, based on the study triggered by the Le Monde article in his quest for a way out, takes a critical attitude towards the Framework Programs, as he probably singles out these programs as the most important trans-European instruments of RTD:

44. He not only criticizes but also proposes some remedies: Support the development of centres of excellence; Target young researchers; Put scientists at the heart of the European research programmes; Give priority to fundamental research.

45. One of the leading S & T Policy researchers from SPRU, Prof. K. Pavitt has also recently put forward a criticism towards the EU programs.

46. His main claim, based on the USA experience, is that “public funding of high quality academic research is the source of major new technological opportunities, as well as an attraction for high quality business activities in an increasingly global world”.

47. He criticises European policies in this sense: “The role of publicly funded academic research in the system of innovations, thus in Europe’s future economic and social development has been misunderstood and neglected in policies”.

48. He bases this criticism mostly on the misunderstanding on the nature of the output of the academic research as “information” that is costly to produce, but virtually costless to transmit and re-use.

49. It is a misunderstanding because, the capacity to understand, interpret, reproduce and apply the results of research performed in other countries requires an infrastructure of expertise, equipment and networks that is costly.

50. Another point he draws attention at is that the European firms are performing an increasing share of their R & D outside their home country, and more specifically in the USA. He considers this to be an additional added value to the US supremacy ?