Europe's future must be knowledge, says Hübner
EU Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner homed in on one specific sentence in the Berlin declaration on the EU as she accepted an honorary doctorate in Bulgaria on 7 May. 'One sentence of the declaration stands out clearly for me and is of particular relevance for all of us here today who have a close involvement in the academic world. The sentence reads: 'Europe's wealth lies in the knowledge and ability of its people; that is the key to growth, employment and social cohesion',' said the Commissioner. The declaration was signed in Berlin in March to commemorate the 50th birthday of the European Union, and define the Union's common future. Key to the future, according to Ms Hübner, is investment in education as a route to strengthening knowledge. Knowledge will not only enable Europe to compete with emerging economies on the new, global stage, but will also go some way to securing social cohesion, believes the Commissioner. 'Education [...] is the only way in which we can avoid a social fracture with one category of what has been termed 'global' citizens who are the skilled workers of the knowledge economy, and a second category of 'local' citizens who are excluded from the opportunities created by the process of globalisation,' said Ms Hübner. And while Europe should invest in education at all levels, investment in universities is paramount, she added. Once knowledge and ability are acquired, they must then not be squandered, the Commissioner told her audience. Instead they must be exploited fully and wisely, and used to first create ideas and then turn them into new products and services. 'These are complex processes, but in short what we need is to create a Europe where the academic world can easily find ready outlets for its valuable research. We need to create a Europe where enterprises have the means and initiative to benefit from the ideas and research of the academic world,' said Ms Hübner. Ms Hübner was herself a researcher at the Warsaw School of Economics before she became a minister in Poland.