Potocnik offers support to Figel's network approach to the EIT
Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik has given his support to his colleague Ján Figel's concept of the proposed European Institute of Technology (EIT), expressing a preference for a network of existing universities rather than the creation of a new institution. 'Creating a new institution would be relatively artificial, and we would have to start from scratch,' said Mr Potocnik. 'If we were to take existing universities and to create a network, this would be more fruitful and more logical for the reality of Europe,' he added. The comments, made at a debate organised by Friends of Europe and the Swiss Mission to the EU, follow the publication of an information note favouring the network approach by Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Multilingualism, Ján Figel'. The EIT would help to attract the best researchers to Europe, and to keep more of its own researchers, said Mr Potocnik. Responding to an intervention on the importance of salaries for retaining the best researchers, the Commissioner claimed that consultations with some of Europe's best researchers, including Nobel laureates, have indicated that salary is not the most important factor in choosing a research placement. Much more important are the right conditions, he explained. Mr Potocnik reiterated the need to double the EU's research budget, and quoted Albert Einstein in order to emphasise the importance of making the right decision on the EU's Financial Perspectives. 'Innovation means going from one failure to another without losing enthusiasm,' Einstein once said. 'I hope we don't fail with these financial perspectives, otherwise we will need a lot of enthusiasm to get going again!' said the Commissioner.