Commissioner Kinnock visits the JRC
Mr Neil Kinnock, Vice president of the European Commission, tipped his hat to EU scientists during a recent trip to the Joint Research Centre's (JRC) laboratories in Ispra, Italy. 'Mr Kinnock was very favourably impressed with the work done at Ispra, which he said was really inspiring,' said a Commission spokesperson. Mr Kinnock visited the four JRC institutes in Ispra at the beginning of April in his capacity as Commissioner responsible for personnel. Some 1,500 JRC personnel responsible for providing scientific and technical support to the European Institutions work at the Ispra site. The Commissioner was particularly keen to have an insight into research of interest to the citizen. He met with a number of experts from fields as diverse as the validation of alternative methods for testing on animals, software that stores information on chemical substances, the European reference laboratory for air pollution and nuclear safeguards. During the visit, Mr Kinnock also attended a JRC management seminar, where he outlined the Commission's White Book on administrative reform - lauded by many as the most far-reaching modernisation strategy in its 40-year history. The JRC is also anticipating reform, following the Commission's adoption of Research Commissioner, Philippe Busquin's plans for a European Research Area. 'The JRC is looking forward to playing a significant role in the development of the European scientific and technical reference area as a reference centre for expert knowledge,' representatives from the JRC told the Commissioner.