There is of course no intention of transferring to the Community as much as possible of the research being done in Europe (which would be nonsensical); the basic idea is, from a strategic viewpoint, to carry out at Community level only that research for which one reason or another can more usefully, more economically or more efficiently be done there: research in areas in which the problems are naturally European in scale such as environmental protection or health, research which is beyond the financial and human resources of a single Member State such as controlled thermonuclear fusion, research facilitating the establishment of the internal market by providing bases for common standards and, more commonly, research in areas in which it is essential to make maximum use of the complementary know-how and expertise existing in Europe: it stands to reason that no Member State has at its fingertips all the expertise in every field.
Περιλαμβάνει διατάξεις που αποσκοπούν στην επιτάχυνση της ευρωπαϊκής ολοκλήρωσης με την πραγματοποίηση μιας μεγάλης ενιαίας αγοράς, έως το 1992, την ενίσχυση της οικονομικής και κοινωνικής συνοχής και τη συνεργασία σε οικονομικά θέματα, την ανάπτυξη της κοινωνικής πολιτικής και της περιβαλλοντολογικής πολιτικής καθώς και — αυτό που εξετάζεται εδώ — τη δημιουργία μιας πραγματικής Ευρωπαϊκής Κοινότητας της 'Ερευνας και της Τεχνολογίας.