Spain pledges progress on infrastructures
Spain has promised to make progress on the European research infrastructure roadmap during its time in the EU Council Presidency. 'Major research infrastructures are fundamental for tackling the social and economic challenges which face European society in the 21st century, on a scientific and technological basis,' commented Spanish Science and Innovation Minister, Cristina Garmendia. Ms Garmendia was speaking to some 600 delegates at the opening of the sixth European Conference on Research Infrastructures (ECRI 2010), which was held in Barcelona, Spain, on 23 and 24 March. Research infrastructures represent an important priority for the Spanish Council Presidency, which describes them as 'the backbone of the European Research Area and [...] a driver for the economic development of the countries involved in their construction'. According to the minister, an efficient European roadmap would be rationally designed according to criteria of both excellence and regional balance and would help Europe to tackle major challenges such as the health needs of an ageing population, climate change, and food security. 'They are much more than extraordinary, expensive and sophisticated instruments,' stated Ms Garmendia, adding that these 'emblems of an era' were the 'result of a collective effort' whose construction and maintenance would generate wealth and employment. The aim of the meeting was to discuss mechanisms for setting priorities and arriving at decisions regarding the location of new European research infrastructures. The conference outcomes will be discussed by EU research ministers at the next meeting of the Competitiveness Council in May. Ms Garmendia also underlined the importance of ensuring researcher mobility; if the European infrastructure roadmap is to be truly efficient, scientists must be able to move freely and carry out research at the infrastructures they need. The European roadmap for research infrastructures was drawn up by the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI). The latest version of the document, dating from the end of 2008, features 44 projects in fields as diverse as the social sciences and humanities, environmental research, energy, biology and medical research, materials and analytical science, the physical sciences and engineering, and e-infrastructures. The construction costs alone of these projects are estimated to be around EUR 20 billion between now and 2014; an additional EUR 2 billion would be required to maintain them. ESFRI is scheduled to release an updated version of the roadmap at the end of 2010. Meanwhile, Ms Garmendia pointed out that many EU Member States have drawn up national research infrastructure strategies that tie in with the wider European infrastructure roadmap. In Spain's case, priorities were the opportunities presented to the scientific community and their social and technological impact. Before the conference, Spanish President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero officially opened the Alba synchrotron, which is located in Barcelona and was built with funding from the Spanish and Catalan governments. Synchrotrons are immense, circular machines in which magnets guide a beam of electrons around a ring. They are used by researchers in a wide range of fields, including archaeology, medicine and industrial research, to name just a few.
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