Academia Europaea issues statement supporting European research council
Academia Europaea, an international association of scientists, has released a statement supporting the establishment of a European research council. The statement comes in the run-up to a Danish event which will ask the question of whether or not a European research council is needed. 'The Academia Europaea strongly supports the development of a European research council (ERC) as a principal means to deliver a genuine European research area (ERA),' reads the statement. According to the Academia Europaea's vision, 'such a council must exist as an independent, non-governmental and apolitical body, dedicated to the promotion and provision of excellence in all fields of European research. As such, any ERC must operate through a caucus of individual scientists and scholars of the highest international reputation.' The statement emphasises that the creation of an ERC should not add to any existing bureaucracy inherent in EU research funding, and should therefore be developed from existing pan-European bodies, such as the European science foundation and the Academia Europaea, which are used to operating across national boundaries.