Brussels, 05/05/2009 (Agence Europe) - Janez Potoènik, European Commissioner for Science and Research, said on Monday 4 May that it was time for the countries of the European Union to respect their commitments when it comes to financing research and development (R&D). Speaking at the informal meeting of the Competitiveness Council in Prague, Mr Potoènik said he had noted President Obama's announcement to bring R&D expenditure up to 3% in the United States. He went on to deplore the fact that, although they had set themselves a similar target in 2002, R&D spending in the EU is today only 1.84%. “The EU must take the aims it has set itself seriously”, he added, explaining that the crisis is a unique opportunity for applying measures decided but not yet implemented. The Czech minister for education, youth and sport, Ondøej Liška, highlighted the responsibility of member states in research and innovation, pointing out that “it is up to them to act”. He went on to say that “no deep change will be made in times of prosperity and peace but rather in times of upheaval”. The commissioner also said that it was necessary to make the European Research Area (ERA) develop according to the example of Internet 2.0. and its applications, after the fashion of Wikepedia, where all users are invited to make an active contribution. “We must admit that the ERA is not yet a reality for most stakeholders and citizens as most of them do not even know it exists”, he deplored. “In a word”, he said, “our aim is to go from the 1.0 version of European Research Area managed by specialists to the 2.0 version in which all citizens and stakeholders will participate”. The commissioner took the view that this approach must be explored under Swedish EU Presidency. On the agenda of the meeting were two areas concerning implementation of the European Research Area Vision 2020, namely the possibilities of improving relations between the three sides of the so-called knowledge triangle (science, education, innovation) at national policy level, and the mobility of European researchers. On this last point, delegations agreed that the subject should be examined by social affairs ministers also, given the difficulties raised by the transferability of pensions and research grants from one country to the next. The minister said the details would be made known when the conclusions are adopted in June. (B.C./transl.jl)