Brussels, 20/02/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 19 February, the European Parliament said that it could be to the benefit of existing and future research projects to have European Research Infrastructure (ERI) status, which would, for example, facilitate funding from several EU member states. In adopting the consultation report by Teresa Riera Madurell (PES, Spain) by 603 votes to 17, with 17 abstentions, MEPs backed the thesis that creating high quality infrastructure would increase opportunities for the excellence of European research in various areas, closer collaboration between European research teams and better prospects for interdisciplinary research, and should also attract researchers from third countries. The creation of world class research infrastructure in Europe would bring added value to the European research area in terms of improving research and education, establishing more connections between public and private researchers, and, on a more general level, bring more socio-economic benefits, the rapporteur said. The draft regulation on which the Parliament was consulted seeks to provide a legal framework to facilitate the establishment and joint use of research facilities of European interest by several member states and associated countries (see EUROPE 9704). The aim is to provide a uniform procedure instead of the current system which requires individual decisions for each research infrastructure facility. The report says that not only new research projects - as the Commission proposes - but also existing European projects should be able to seek the new status. Parliament proposes a precise definition of a research structure of pan-European interest is a “facility, including resources and related services, which can be used by the scientific community to conduct high level research in their respective fields”. Insofar as the proposed legislation seeks to provide a joint legal framework for a new legal form, the definition of an ERI should be an integral part of the regulation and not simply mentioned in a recital, MEPs say. (B.C./transl.rt)