Strasbourg, 26/09/2000 (Agence Europe) - At the conference on major research infrastructures, in Strasbourg last week (also see EUROPE of 23 September, p.9), several ministers joined scientists in their support for the construction of a European Area of Research, in accordance with the plan put forward by Commissioner Philippe Busquin.
Council President Roger-Gérard Schwartzenberg stressed that achieving such an "ambitious and necessary" project would represent a "major effort on the part of Europe". "The role of research in the 21st century will be more defining than ever", he said, recalling that it was both the "womb of new knowledge" and the "main driving force of competitiveness, growth and employment". Having referred to the need for European countries to increase their efforts into research (in percentage of GDP) to the levels of the United States and Japan, Mr. Schwartzenberg placed great emphasis on efforts required to develop the mobility of researchers. He has had talks with Mr. Busquin, who shares the same opinion, on the creation of a working group responsible for identifying all the barriers (cultural, administrative, financial…) impeding the movement of researchers so that they may be lifted. He considers that Community financing devoted to researcher-mobility should be increased, with as goal 8000 equivalent researcher posts, financed annually by the EU. Mr. Schwartzenberg also hoped that a study would be made on the creation of "return scholarships for post-doctoral work" to facilitate the return of European researchers who now find themselves outside the EU, and thereby put an end to what is generally referred to as the brain-drain. (EUROPE recalls that this is an already old proposal made by the European Commission, which the Council has so far rejected). As for research infrastructures, their funding often exceeds the financial capacities of a single State and a European approach has become essential. He spoke out in favour of the concept of "variable geometry" and the use of the mechanisms under Article 168 and 169 of the Treaty, enabling Member States interested in the construction of a new research installation, in the framework of a coherent project of European interest, to secure EU co-funding.
Portuguese Minister Mariano Gago pleaded in favour of a common policy in the field of museums and other places that enable the public to better understand science. He stressed that conviviality was important even for researchers and that whence it was essential to have places where European researchers may work together and that were also attractive to foreign researchers. Turning to solutions like "the variable geometry" for infrastructures, he said: "Variable geometry is a military concept regarding fighter planes and some do not survive", stressing the need to adapt it, as research programmes and infrastructures must be designed to last. One has also to avoid losing sight of the goal that would lead to national laboratories being re-financed or reducing national funding by replacing this by Community funding." Returning to the high-speed inter-connection issue, he welcomed the fact that the decision had been taken but immediately regretted the fact that "investment is neither massive nor rapid". Mr. Gago also deplored the lack of a coordinated policy regarding information and scientific publications. As for researcher-mobility, he urged participants to galvanize support in their countries for the Commission's proposal. He also hoped that a European exchange of job supply and demand would be set up, and a directive on recruitment drawn up.
Swedish Minister Thomas Ostros welcomed the efforts of Commissioner Busquin and Mr. Gago to move discussion on research forward. While providing his backing to the European Area of Research as a whole, he said that the future Swedish Presidency intended to place emphasis on the infrastructure issue. Having stressed the dire need for additional resources, he placed emphasis on the need to define needs and adequate means of responding to these, avoiding, as has sometimes happened in the past, foremost concerning themselves with where infrastructures should be located. He also said that they had to avoid creating "conservative structures".
All these issues should be discussed by the "Research" Council of 16 November, setting out from a policy document on the EU's future research measures and on the 6th Framework-Programme that the Commission is to adopt in ten days or so. On that occasion, the French Presidency should propose that the Council adopt a resolution to mark its commitment to rapidly developing a genuine European research policy going further than the current framework-programme. The future Swedish Presidency is considering organising an informal meeting of research ministers mid-February, with two main topics: - infrastructures; - the relationship between science and society.