Since 1992, the International Science and Technology Centre (ISTC) has funded projects which actively promote non-proliferation, encouraging scientists of former Soviet Union countries to turn away from weapons research towards more market-driven, peaceful fields of science and technology.
ISTC is a partnership between the EU, the USA, Japan and the Russian Federation. Its programmes offer NIS scientists a chance to work with like-minded professionals from the international community in areas such as environmental protection, energy production, and nuclear safety. The spin-off benefit is that these scientists learn a great deal about how the international research community operates which, in turn, adds value to their own countries' R&D sectors in terms of learning new skills and developing contacts.

Track record

Over the past eight years, the ISTC has supported the work of more than 35 000 scientists in more than 400 former military institutes. It has financed 1 450 projects to the tune of €460 million covering a large number of technical disciplines including chemistry, high-energy physics, biotechnology, space and aeronautics, and engineering.
About 20% of ISTC funding comes from government institutions and industry, which shows how valuable its projects are to both the private and public science and technology sectors.
According to INCO's Didier Gambier, the next step for ISTC may be to move away from only financing projects.
He said: "If the ISTC is to consolidate its success it must now face the difficulty of engaging scientists who work on weapons of mass destruction in a complete and irreversible conversion of their activities, re-directing their energies to civil needs though a policy of innovation, supported by legal reforms in Russia and other CIS countries."

The agreement will strengthen links between the respective fusion programmes and intensify co-operative activity on the ITER project (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) which seeks to develop fusion technology. Also at the summit, a cooperation agreement to improve nuclear safety was signed.
An EU-Russian dialogue has been established to identify areas of research that will improve the scientific competitiveness of both parties. The summit hailed this initiative which will also add an international dimension to the European Research Area.

Swords into ploughshares

Summit support was wholeheartedly given for the continuing work of the Moscow-based International Science and Technology Centre (ISTC). Created jointly by the EU, the Russian Federation, the United States, and Japan, ISTC redirects the skills of scientists who used to work in military research into peaceful areas.

The summit also welcomed:

• the contribution made to partnership working by INTAS, the International Association for the Promotion of Cooperation with Scientists from the Newly-Independent States and the Former Soviet Union.
• the bringing together of the European Space Agency and its Russian equivalent Rosaviakosmos, in a long-term partnership that will work on launch services, global satellite navigation and global monitoring.

Action plan for research cooperation will bring EU and the Russian Federation closer together

Dialogue on science and technology joint-working stepped up a gear when Commissioner Busquin and his opposite number, Minister Dondukov, met recently.
They want the action plan to define the scientific fields which best suit cooperative activity and to explore the best way to exploit opportunities offered by EC framework programmes and other instruments - such as ISTC.

Ukraine and EU join forces

The EU and Ukraine have initialled a draft science and technology cooperation agreement. Negotiations took place in Kiev at the end of last year.