Central Europe flies closer to the West
European nations have long strived to work together in the fields of research and technology. Aeronautics is an area in which the countries of Central Europe are determined to become key players. To promote the region, the EU has funded a project called Ceares ('Central European aeronautical research initiative') which represents a regional network of universities and research centres aimed at European collaboration and knowledge exchange in aeronautics. Over its course, the project managed to harness the power and knowledge of 40 organisations from 15 countries under the newly established network. The Ceares network members have been keeping abreast of the latest developments through the project website which also features an intranet-type forum. Participation and interest was particularly high from new Member States such as Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Candidate members Croatia and Serbia also participated strongly. Moreover, Ceares collaborated with organisations from the rest of Europe in particular during the many workshops, and experts from Western European countries formed the advisory board. Key players from the European research industry, such as leading research centres and universities, aircraft and component manufacturers, also participated. While Ceares was not intended to be a forum for the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), emphasis was placed on raising FP7 awareness during the four workshops conducted and applying for proposals under FP7. Joint undertakings with other similar initiatives, such as SESAR and CleanSky, were also emphasised. Also noteworthy is Ceares' contribution to the creation of a European Research Area (ERA). The network fostered co-operation among researchers in aeronautics, not only within Central Europe but on a pan-European scale, too. Participation of key European research centres, universities and industrial players in the network's advisory board and during workshops helped to harmonise local and European research activities.
