<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Occupied Palestine | فلسطين]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[occupiedpalestine]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/author/hajarhajar/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[ei: Israeli arms firm to benefit from EU-funded&nbsp;research]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p><span class="text14">David Cronin, <em>The Electronic Intifada,</em> 21 December 2010</p>
<p><span class="content">BRUSSELS (IPS) &#8211; Arms traders are seeking  to convince the European Union that publicly-funded scientific research  grants should help develop weapons for future wars.</p>
<p>In a series of secret discussions, Brussels officials and  representatives of the arms industry are examining if the EU&#8217;s  multi-billion euro &#8220;framework program&#8221; for research can be used for  projects of a military nature.</p>
<p>Since the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States, senior  policy-makers in the European Commission, the EU&#8217;s executive wing, have  been eager to ensure a greater involvement of arms manufacturers in the  program. Yet because of the reluctance of some EU governments to give  the commission a greater say in military matters, the scope of &#8220;security  research&#8221; has so far been limited to projects that, according to EU  officials, can be categorized as &#8220;civilian&#8221; and &#8220;non-lethal.&#8221;</p>
<p>About 1.4 billion euros ($1.85 billion) have been allocated to the  &#8220;security&#8221; theme of the current framework program, which runs from 2007  to 2013 and has an overall budget of 53 billion euros ($69.5 billion).  With planning already under way for the next phase of the program &#8212;  from 2014 to 2020 &#8212; the arms industry is pushing for projects of a more  explicit military nature to be funded.</p>
<p>Many arms industry lobbyists view the research program as an important  source of money at a time when military expenditure is being reduced  throughout Europe. While the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)  advocates that its members should devote at least 2 percent of their  gross domestic product to the military, France, Greece and Britain are  the only EU countries that have met that target.</p>
<p>The secret talks on how science grants may aid the military are being  organized by a network called SANDERA (Security and Defense policies in  the European Research Area).</p>
<p>Burkhard Theile, a German arms industry lobbyist who is joining the  talks, said he wishes to see EU research grants being used for  developing new pilotless drones (also known as unmanned aerial vehicles,  UAVs). Such weapons were used extensively by Israel to kill and injure  civilians in Gaza during 2008 and 2009. They are also being used by the  US in carrying out extrajudicial executions &#8212; which frequently result  in civilian deaths &#8212; in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia and Yemen.</p>
<p>&#8220;UAVs have both civilian and military uses and they should be funded by  the Union,&#8221; Theile told IPS. &#8220;They can equally be used for border patrol  or for missions like the one we have in Afghanistan.&#8221; Formerly a  vice-president of Rheinmetall, a maker of tanks and warplanes, Theile  now runs his own consulting firm for the arms trade.</p>
<p>Andrew James, a lecturer in Manchester Business School and coordinator  of Sandera, acknowledged that giving the European Commission a greater  say in scientific research may encounter resistance from EU governments.  He said: &#8220;A number of powerful and influential stakeholders in Brussels  and beyond would like to see defense in some form take funding more  broadly than it does at the moment, not least because defense spending  among [EU] member states is obviously declining. This is politically  controversial. Not all member states would be comfortable to see the  commission getting involved in defense research.&#8221;</p>
<p>Rather than being financed as a &#8220;security&#8221; project, the work of Sandera  is covered by the section of the EU&#8217;s research program reserved for  social science and humanities.</p>
<p>Academics from the Free University in Berlin have expressed concern that  the research program is focusing less on issues of a genuinely social  nature. A paper drawn up by Tanja Boerzel, a professor at the  university, laments how EU-financed social science projects are often  driven by the interests of private companies. Although about half of all  academic staff at leading European universities work in social  sciences, only two percent of the EU&#8217;s research program is allocated to  this field, the paper says.</p>
<p>Ben Hayes, a campaigner with the civil liberties organization  Statewatch, argued that the research program should concentrate more on  social than on military issues. &#8220;There is a huge conflict of interest in  allowing the military and security lobby to set the research agenda, to  be able to define the priorities and then to apply for the funding on  offer,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They are developing their wares with taxpayers&#8217; money  and then selling them back to the state. This is a hugely misdirected  allocation of taxpayers&#8217; money and scarce resources.&#8221;</p>
<p>Mark English, the European Commission&#8217;s spokesman on science, said that  the EU executive expects to increase the amount of grants given to  social research from 84 million euros ($110 million) next year to almost  111 million euros ($145 million) in 2013. He also denied that there are  discussions taking place about using EU grants for military purposes.</p>
<p>But a study published in October by the European Parliament, the EU&#8217;s  only directly-elected institution, concluded that the arms industry is  already adept at drawing down funds from the Union&#8217;s budget. The report  said that it is &#8220;mostly large defense companies, the very same who have  participated in the definition of EU-sponsored security research which  are the main beneficiaries.&#8221; The leading recipients of these grants to  date include Verint, an Israeli maker of surveillance equipment, and the  German and French firms Fraunhofer and Thales.</p>
<p>Although Israel is not formally a member of the European Union, it has  been a participant in the EU&#8217;s science activities since the 1990s. A  recent paper by the Quaker Council on European Affairs noted that Israel  &#8220;appears to be standing out&#8221; in its ability to receive funding  earmarked for security research. The Quakers expressed concern about how  companies that have supplied weapons used against Palestinians and  provided services to illegal settlements in the West Bank are among the  recipients of EU research grants. The report said: &#8220;Israeli industries  that profit from the occupation in Palestine should not be eligible to  apply for EU funding.&#8221;</p>
<p><em>All rights reserved, IPS &#8212; Inter Press Service (2010). Total or partial publication, retransmission or sale forbidden.</em></span></p>
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