Brussels, 26/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - The objectives of the strategy EUROPE 2020 do not need to be redefined and the progress made in establishing the European Research Area (ERA) is by and large satisfactory. These two observations were the subject of consensus between the European ministers with responsibility for research, meeting behind closed doors in Brussels on Friday 26 September, although some of them expressed reservations on the Commission's latest report on the level of completion of the ERA.
Strategy EUROPE 2020. The objective for the EU to achieve, between now and 2020, a level of expenditure for research and innovation of 3% of GDP will not be met. However, the ministers are in favour of this objective and do not plan to change it at their mid-term review of the strategy, which will be carried out by the Competitiveness Council in December 2014. Admittedly, more needs to be invested in these areas, but the effort should now be coming mainly from the private sector, said Commissioner for research, innovation and science Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, after the Council. The Polish Minister of Science and Higher Education, Lena Kolarska-Bobinska, added that this target, which “will not be achieved”, is an excellent source of “motivation”, a way for the member states to compare themselves with each other. Other ministers commented that it will also serve as leverage in negotiations within their own governments when it comes to the delicate task of dividing up the national budget.
European Research Area (ERA). The talks between the ministers on progress in the completion of the ERA were based on the Commission's report presented in mid-September. The report itself came in for a certain amount of criticism, particularly from Spain, Portugal, Poland and Finland. t is an “illegible book” with dubious methodology (excessively complex questionnaires), in the view of certain ministers. However, most of them were satisfied with the progress made in the implementation of the ERA, although the Commission still has cause to criticise the member states for the unjustifiable amount of time it is taking. In the Scandinavian countries, progress is visible, as the ERA is already a reality for many research institutes, and it is hard to reproach these for a lack of ambition in this area, one European source noted.
Today, the aim is to bring about an increased convergence of the national roadmaps to be adopted in mid-2015. Emphasis must be laid on common priorities, such as more transparent research markets, joint programming, the alignment of national strategies and reinforcing cooperation between the member states and free access to the results of research, the Italian Presidency of the Council stressed. This ambition for greater convergence is, however, hampered by the fact that each member state remains committed to its own priorities. “We are having enormous difficulties” in completing the ERA and it will be hard to say one day “we have succeeded”, Kolarska-Bobinska pointed out, after the Council meeting. However, she went on to say that this takes nothing away from the value of the ERA. The problems will always be there, as they stem from a very simple reality: there are major cultural differences in the EU in terms of research, particularly between the Anglo-Saxon and continental models, both in how to work best with industry and the volume of available budgets, but also in the assessment systems, she explained. “We are slowly moving closer together” but, ultimately, each country will be congratulated on different successes, which will be unique to it, she concluded (our translation throughout). (JK)