MICE program
The MICE program cost the EU 2 million euros from the 5th Community Support Framework, according to Giorgos Amanatidis, scientific director of the European Commission’s Research Directorate General. He said that the conclusions of this survey, along with those of the Ensembles program (expected to be completed in four years’ time) will provide the basis for the EU’s post-Kyoto policy. «We are not ignoring the climatic changes and the extreme phenomena we are already seeing. It is the European Commission’s policy to fund environmental research. The proposed 7th Community Support Framework provides for increased funding, while the budget for the Ensembles program is 15 million euros. We are trying to find common ground with the US on the restriction of airborne pollutants. Technology by itself cannot provide a solution to the problem, however. Joint decisions are needed and we are making efforts to convince the Americans,» said Amanatidis.
