COST - the acronym for European CO-operation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research- is the longest running and widest European intergovernmental network for cooperation in research. Established by a Ministerial Conference of 19 European states in November 1971, COST is at present serving the scientific communities of 35 European countries to cooperate in common research projects supported by national funds.

COST is a cornerstone for the development of the European Research Area (ERA) and instrumental in achieving the objectives set by the European Councils of Lisbon in 2000 and Barcelona in 2002. It is a unique instrument with a clear role in the ERA combining the following characteristics in a single, flexible structure:

- a European "exploratorium" of new ideas in the most promising fields of research, thus functioning as a generator of initiatives in the Framework Programmes and as a potential source of industrial applications in EUREKA;
- a high-level scientific network able to tackle problems of societal importance;
- a framework able to ensure both scientific excellence and networking among European researchers;
- an effective tool to coordinate nationally funded research activities encouraging synergy and work sharing and avoiding duplications and gaps thus allowing a more efficient use of national resources. A" multiplier effect" is achieved: with the funds provided for COST networking a volume of research activities worth about 100 times as much is coordinated;
- an active partner in the European "neighbourhood" policy towards the scientific communities of the EU's "near neighbours";
- an asset for the EU RDT policy in its relation to the rest of the world.

The paper describes the history of COST in the last five years which may be summarised as a rapid transition from the "dark" period of the years 2002 and 2003 - when there had even been some talk of an "honourable funeral" for COST- to the COST " renaissance" of 2004, 2005 and 2006. The now renewed confidence and enthusiasm in the COST research community, the assured support from the Framework Programmes and the consequent brilliant future for COST represents an important opportunity for the European scientific community.

The European Commission is presently funding collaborative research and development projects in the 6th Framework Programme (FP 6) that has been running from 2002-2006. Activities in the field of communication technologies aim to develop new advanced communication technologies, systems and services enabling low cost broadband end-to-end connectivity and seamless mobile/wireless access solutions across a range of heterogeneous IP-based network infrastructures. The aim is the provision of personalised services to anyone, any time, and anywhere. Special emphasis is placed on ensuring smooth technological transitions, on management of end-to-end converged services and networks, on optimisation of resource sharing and on creating opportunities for disruption and user based innovation. Significant effort is dedicated towards ensuring that research and development activities are appropriately placed in the context of the European Research Area and in line with the EU regulatory, radio spectrum and standardisation frameworks. Particular attention is devoted to the launch of targeted international cooperation actions. In addition to the implementation of the research programme the European Commission is currently defining the technical content of the 7th Framework Programme (FP 7) that will cover the period of 2007-2013. The area of communication technologies is characterised by the main technical objective of "Ubiquitous and unlimited capacity communication networks". Activities should aim at ubiquitous access over heterogeneous networks - fixed, mobile, wireless and broadcasting networks - spanning from the personal area to the regional and global area allowing the seamless delivery of ever higher volumes of data and services anywhere, anytime. The presentation will first introduce the political context of research in information and communication technologies (ICT) in general and more specifically of research in mobile and broadband communication technologies. After the presentation of the current research portfolio in FP 6 covering ongoing activities and achievements, an outlook to FP7 will be given that should stimulate a feedback discussion with the audience on priorities that should be considered when implementing the programme.