Brussels, 09/03/2009 (Agence Europe) - European research ministers affirmed on Friday 6 March that one of the solutions to the current crisis lay in achieving the European Research Area (ERA) and especially the continuation of work on two essential issues: - the Ljubljana Process and research infrastructure. “There is a serious crisis but there is a way out of this crisis, and research and innovation are part of it”, said Janez Potoènik, European Science and Research Commissioner, speaking at a press conference. The Council, presided by the Czech minister for education, youth and sport, Ondøej Liška, discussed the long-term vision of ERA realisation, called the “Ljubljana Process”. On the basis of a questionnaire prepared by the Presidency, European ministers gave their views on the consequences of the economic recession and the need for greater investment efficiency. In line with the strategic document entitled “Vision 2020 for the European Research Area”, adopted on 5 March, EU member states should achieve better management of research and development within the Ljubljana Process. The next stage of this process will consist in identifying priorities for future EU Presidencies. Ministers also discussed over lunch the role of European research infrastructures. “This is a concrete area of action for research to contribute to the recovery plan on a medium and long-term perspective”, said Potoènik, who stressed the added value brought by observatories for environmental sciences, data banks in genomics and large super computers. In his view, the short term, which corresponds to the infrastructure construction phase, will make it possible to create jobs, but also to involve different suppliers. In the medium term, once the infrastructure is up and running, others jobs will be created and will thus generate indirect activities such as retail businesses and restaurants. Finally, in the long term, the commissioner foresees the commercial exploitation of technological innovations. “More generally, research infrastructures contribute to the production of new knowledge which is the new engine for the growth and competitiveness of the EU economy”, the commissioner said. “It is necessary to weigh up the investment devoted to research infrastructure, given the contribution that they make to Europe's long term competitiveness, as the EU heads of state and government confirmed in their recovery plan”, Minister Liška explained. The ministers had earlier discussed the impact that European research infrastructure will have on closer links between universities, the private sector and the public administration, and the role of this infrastructure as part of the European recovery plan. The Council will adopt conclusions on European research infrastructure during its next meeting on 28-29 May. The Council of Ministers, moreover, examined other points on the agenda, namely information provided by the Presidency and the European Commission on the ex-post evaluation of the 6th framework programme for research and development, the possible association of Russia in the 7th EU framework programme for research (7th FPRD) and the metrology research programme. The Council finally discussed the results of the EUFORDIA conference held on 24 and 25 February 2009 in Prague, devoted to assessing the impact of research-development investment on the economy. (B.C./transl.jl)