Brussels, 17/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - At its annual conference held at Aarhus University, Denmark, the European University Association (EUA) published a political declaration on the role of universities in developing talent in Europe. As tense negotiations on the European budget post-2013 begin, the Aarhus declaration underlines the importance of investing in education, research and innovation to enable universities to play their full role in nurturing talented individuals and in contributing to the EU 2020 strategy for “smart sustainable and inclusive growth”. The declaration is, however, not only addressed at political leaders as it also contains an action agenda for universities to develop talent. Competition in the higher education sector is now global and Europe cannot afford to run the risk of losing a generation of talented people, or of a serious decrease in research and innovation activity while its competitors are investing heavily in universities and the innovators of tomorrow. “Every euro spent at European level on universities will add value by bringing people together, pooling knowledge and creating synergies that could not be achieved at national level alone”, the EUA states.