A-ROLL
Dur.: 5:05
Out Q: …later in the year.
Guide Voice: With Europe apparently in
crisis, it’s not the ideal time for the European
Commission’s Directorate-General for Science and Research to
be proposing to double the size of its budget. But the EU
Commissioner responsible says it’s now more vital than ever
before that Europe works towards a knowledge-based economy.
0:22 CLIP: Janez Potocnik, EU Commissioner for Science
and Research - “It’s not a question of
will we do it? Should we do it? It is only a question of when we
will do it. Because we don’t have any other
choice.”
Guide Voice: Janez Potocnik was speaking
to scientists and journalists at a press briefing in Holland. He
said the rejection of the EU Constitution by voters there, and in
France, only serves to underline the importance of remaining
competitive.
0:45 Janez Potocnik, EU Commissioner for Science and
Research - “The major reason why the people said
No was because they’re afraid that Europe is not giving them
enough answers about their social and economic security. But
surprisingly the same was the reason for voting Yes. Because they
see Europe somehow as a protection against the possible threats
from globalisation. We have to admit that the cost of the European
product is somehow higher and we have to put in knowledge to make
it better and to make our lives and influence on life
better.”
Guide Voice: Mr Potocnik’s comments
were welcomed by Holland’s Minister for Science.
1:23 Maria van der Hoeven, Dutch Science Minister
- “We have to continue investing in scientific
research and devlopment. It provides us with answers, answers to
questions, and those answers will lead to economic
growth.”
Guide Voice: The Commissioner and his
colleagues realise that persuading member states that the EU needs
to spend an extra five billion euros a year on science won’t
be easy. But they’re assuring the doubters that none of it
would be wasted.
1:46 Elena Righi, European Commission -
“My experience is that European money is very well spent
in science because not only are we bringing about integartion of
science in Europe but we are also bringing science closer to the
citizen. And also R&D has spin-off developments which
eventually will go into industry."
2:11 PIECE TO CAMERA: Robin Powell, reporting from
Dwingeloo, Holland - “A classic example of an
area of research for which cross-border co-operation is essential
is radio astronomy. By linking together antennae in different
countries, even different continents, you effectively create a a
single, giant telescope. And the larger the telescope you use, the
more precise your image of the universe will be.”
Guide Voice: The co-ordinated use of
antennae hundreds or thousands of miles apart is called VLBI, or
Very Long Baseline Infrerometry. And this is JIVE - the Joint
Institute for VLBI in Europe. Here, at Dwingeloo in northern
Holland, data is assessed from observatories all over the world.
JIVE’s Director says collaboration between member states is
the only way of ensuring that Europe stays at the cutting edge of
research into radio astronomy.
3:04 Dr Mike Garrett, Director of JIVE
- “There are many projects that are being done
on nartional scales that are really just not competitive with the
other competitors that we have in the world. Any single country in
Europe, for example, can’t really compete with the might of
the United States or even China.”
Guide Voice: Research into astronomy has
several practical and commercial applications. But Dr Garrett
admits that his prime motivation is the thirst for knowledge,
finding out about the very biggest issues, such as how the world
began.
3:35 Dr Mike Garrett -
“This is the impact of the spacecraft on the comet Tempel
which occurred earlier this week. We’re looking for material
which was deep in the centre of the comet. We’re looking to
see if we can measure the properties of that material. This is
really a fundamental question because we think that within the
centre of comets is basically pristine material which hasn’t
changed since the solar system formed about five million years
ago.”
Guide Voice: One of the observatories
collecting data on Tempel One is this one at Westerbork, 30
kilometres east of Dwingeloo.
4:10 Dr Willem Baan, Director of
Westerbork Observatory - “Results are coming in
already. Some of the telescops have detected some lines, some
water, some gas coming from the comet. All of this will hit the
press as soon as people can get
organised.”
Guide Voice: Professor Neil Spooner conducts
research into astroparticle physics at the University of Sheffield.
Privately he’s sceptical about closer European integration
but he admits that the EU’s involvement has made his job
easier.
4:43 CLIP: Professor Neil Spooner, University of
Sheffield - “I’m actually quite a
euro-sceptic personally. I’ve been sucked into the European
research initiatives in my area, and it’s actually worked
quite well. I’ve found it has integrated people and it has
had a positive effect.”
Guide Voice: But the battle to convince
Europe’s politicians of the need to invest in science
continues. The European Commission plans more press briefings like
this later in the year.
SHORT B-ROLL
Dur.: 2:00
- Press briefing in Dwingeloo, Holland
- Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)
- Westerbork Observatory
- European Southern Onservatory (ESO)
- ESO observations
LONG B-ROLL
Dur.: 15:03
- Extended interview with Janez Potocnik
- Press briefing in Dwingeloo, Holland
- Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)
- Westerbork Observatory
- European Southern Observatory (ESO)
- ESO observations
END
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