Belgium and Hungary - Candidate and Member States following the EU research model
Whilst gaps remain between Belgium and Hungary in terms of science policy, an analysis of both national policies at an event on 19 November revealed that the two have much in common, as both incorporate elements of the EU model in their national research and development (R&D) policies. The event, entitled 'Science and European integration: the Belgian and Hungarian experience' in Brussels was attended by representatives of both countries, as well as EU Research Commissioner, Philippe Busquin. As Hungary adapts its R&D policy to be consistent with the EU's, the Belgian system shows many similarities with the current Framework programme as well as the proposals for a European research area (ERA). Collaboration between the two is helping Hungary to move still closer to the EU model, the Hungarian Minister for Education, József Pálinkás, told CORDIS News. '[Collaboration] helps Hungary directly in the sense that we work together in two different schemes. When we work together in cooperation with, say, a Belgian research group, then of course their language, culture and way of administrating almost automatically moves us closer to European administration,' he said. Both Belgium and Hungary are small countries, and both have a tendency to experience from 'brain drain', although Mr Pálinkás believes that this is not currently a problem for Hungary as the country also benefits from a 'brain gain'. 'Let me change the phrase to 'brain diffusion', said Mr Pálinkás to CORDIS News. 'There is a brain drain from the poorest countries, a brain transition, I would say, in the medium countries and a brain surplus in countries like the US. [...] In the case of Hungary, we have people coming to Hungary from neighbouring countries and the brain drain from Hungary is not that much any more.' Speaking at the seminar, the Director of the United Nations University in Bruges, Belgium, Luk van Langenhove claimed that Belgium has so much researcher mobility that there is a tendency by some to call it brain drain. He added however that Belgium's laboratories are very open to researchers from outside Belgium. Mr van Langenhove claimed that Belgium is 'more than ready for ERA', citing the country's focus on networks of excellence, high mobility and attention to science and society as evidence. This feeling was echoed by Yvan Ylieff, Commissioner of the Belgian federal government in charge of scientific policy, who claimed that Belgium is well aware of its key role to play in setting up and developing ERA. Belgium successfully runs an 'inter-university attraction scheme', wherein proposals are submitted by a consortium of research teams, which must come from both the Flemish and Walloon regions. The initiative has recently opened to foreigners, as Belgium wanted to 'anticipate ERA', said Mr van Langenhove. He added that the results show that 'it is better to spend money on bringing people together rather than on big institutions.' This was a sentiment echoed by Mr Pálinkás. 'What I always say [...] is that you have to put together into a network the existing centres which can deal with the problem or handle the project and not create totally new establishments because in this case, countries like Hungary certainly can participate.' This is also the policy in Hungary. 'In our national research and development programme, I myself try to pull together the different capacities around a certain schematic. I told them quite clearly that we're not going to finance one institute in one part of the country and another institute in another part of the country unless they have cooperative research, unless they show me that they equipment they want to buy here and the equipment they want to buy there works together and they in some sense need each other,' he told CORDIS News. EU Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin emphasised that within a European research area, all countries will benefit from networks of excellence. 'Thanks to the networking of national programmes or those of centres of excellence across the European Union and associated countries, thanks to the launch of large projects of targeted research, researchers in candidate countries like those in the European Union will have access to more science and technology resources than on a national basis, mutually benefiting all participants,' he said. Both Belgium and Hungary are currently increasing their R&D spending. Whilst Belgium remains at the low end of EU R&D spenders, expenditure has increased steadily since 1994, particularly from the Flemish region, whose contribution rose by 42.9 per cent between 1989 and 2000. The federal budget for the year 2000 was 473 million euro, which was divided equally between national and international activities. This funding was in addition to that provided by the regional and community authorities, which are responsible for most of Belgium's R&D policy. A future issue for Belgium is how to use the available federal funding so that it adds real value to what is already being done at regional level, said Mr van Langenhove. Hungary meanwhile showed a nominal growth in national R&D expenditure of 34.7 per cent in 2000, whilst inflation was 10 per cent. In the same year, Hungary introduced the Széchenyi plan, with seven chapters, the second of which is devoted to R&D. 'This was a major breakthrough in financing R&D in Hungary,' said Mr Pálinkás. In 2002 10 per cent of the plan's funds will go to R&D. Hungary has also changed the structure of its R&D spending, providing more finance for R&D grants and to R&D units in higher education institutions. Hungary's national research programmes are very similar to that of the Fifth Framework programme in terms of themes, but also in terms of features: they involve shared cost projects, strengthening links between the research and the business sectors, the concentration of funds and networking. 'If we can keep this pace, this speed, then in 2006 Hungary will be practically on the same level as most of the European countries,' said Mr Pálinkás.
Kraje
Belgium