23/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - European Research Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn will be in Munich on Thursday 24 June to celebrate the European Research Council's (ERC) 1000th grant, awarded to German immunologist and paediatrician Professor Erika von Mutius. German Research Minister Annette Schavan and ERC President Professor Helga Nowotny will also take part in the ceremony scheduled to take place at 10.00am in Professor von Mutius' host institution, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU). The ERC was launched by the European Commission three years ago to fund innovative “blue sky” research throughout Europe. After visiting the Max-Planck Gesellschaft in the afternoon, Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn will also sign a “statement of intent” with the seven leading inter-governmental research organisations which make up EIROforum, pledging to work more closely together to develop the European Research Area. (O.L./transl.rt)