Agreement concerning guidelines for coherence
Greater coherence, more researcher mobility and a clearer financing structure are needed to create the right conditions for the proposed European Research Area (ERA) according to three European research ministers and Professor Enric Banda at the 'Research infrastructures' conference in Strasbourg on 18 and 19 September. Research infrastructures must be approached from a European perspective rather than on the basis of individual or bilateral Member State initiatives, Professor Banda, who is a research professor from the Institut de Ciències de la Terra Jaume Almera in Barcelona, emphasised. 'Only a joint European approach will lead to a European voice being heard,' he said. The three research ministers, France's Roger-Gérard Schwarzenberg, Portgal's Mariano Gago and Sweden's Thomas Ostros listened to Professor Banda call for the abolition of all barriers to the mobility of researchers and for moves to make Europe more attractive to foreign researchers. Banda's recommendations also included the simplification of the decision-making process, and the creation of a permanent strategic body to be centralised at the Commission, that would involve the participation of national decision-makers, ensuring the coherence of EU research policy. The EU should have a more important role to play in the funding of infrastructures, as well as their construction and management, Professor Banda suggested, adding that financing should also be provided by the Structural Funds. Mr Schwarzenberg also drew attention to the work that is still needed if the mobility of researchers is to be improved. He said he has had talks with EU research Commissioner Philippe Busquin, and both agree that a working group, responsible for identifying the barriers to the free movement of researchers, should be established. He called for an increase in Community financing assigned to researcher mobility, with the goal of creating 8000 EU-financed researcher posts, and a study on the creation of 'return scholarships for post-doctoral work. These would facilitate the return of European researchers to their country of origin, thus diminishing what is generally referred to as the 'brain-drain'. The establishment of return scholarships for post-doctoral work has already been proposed by the Commission, but rejected by the Council. Mr Gago urged participants to push for support in their home countries for the Commission's proposal. He also hoped that a European exchange of job supply and demand would be set up, and a directive on recruitment drawn up. These issues are to be discussed by the Council on 16 November, when a policy document will be drawn up, stating the EU's future research measures on the Sixth Framework programme, which the Commission is to adopt at the beginning of October. It is expected that the French Presidency will propose that the Council adopt a resolution to demonstrate its commitment to rapidly develop a genuine European research policy that goes further than the current framework programme. The forthcoming Swedish Presidency has indicated that it is considering organising an informal meeting of research ministers in February in order to discuss infrastructures and the relationship between science and society.
Countries
France