MEPs launch Circle for Research and Innovation

MEPs Jerzy Buzek and Jorgo Chatzimarkakis launched the 'EP Research and Innovation Circle' in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 14 February. The circle will meet four times per year in the Parliament to 'discuss fundamental and current issues on research and innovation...

MEPs Jerzy Buzek and Jorgo Chatzimarkakis launched the 'EP Research and Innovation Circle' in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 14 February.

The circle will meet four times per year in the Parliament to 'discuss fundamental and current issues on research and innovation', and will also hold an annual conference. The first conference will address innovation, while the next three will address nanotechnologies, biotechnology and information technologies.

The Circle's next meeting, planned for June, will focus on 'infrastructure for innovation', and is timed to 'send a timely and clear signal to the [European Parliament] before it takes a decision on the Seventh Framework Programme'.

The Circle was launched in the presence of a number of well known scientific organisations, including the European Science Foundation (ESF), the European Life Science Forum (ELSF), the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), EuroScience, the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) and the 'Global Knowledge Strategies and Partnerships'.