The European Commission has today
set out concrete steps Member States should take to achieve the
European Research Area (ERA), a Single Market for research and
innovation in Europe. The goal is to enable researchers, research
institutions and businesses to better move, compete and co-operate
across borders.
No neglecting the knowledge
base
One European Research Area will
strengthen Member States' research bases, increase their
competitiveness and allow them to work together more effectively to
tackle major societal challenges, such as climate change, food and
energy security and public health. To help achieve the European
Research Area, the European Commission has also today signed a
Joint Statement and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with
organisations representing key research organisations and research
funding bodies.
European Commissioner for Research,
Innovation and Science Máire Geoghegan-Quinn said: "We cannot
continue with a situation where research funding is not always
allocated competitively, where positions are not always filled on
merit, where researchers can rarely take their grants or have
access to research programmes across borders, and where large parts
of Europe are not even in the game. Talk to any business
leader and they will tell you that the quality of the research base
is a major factor in their investment decisions. In today's
economy, no Member State or region can afford to neglect its
knowledge base."
Cross-border
careers
When asked, almost 80% of the
research community indicated that lack of open and transparent
recruitment hinders international mobility. Member States are
therefore asked to remove barriers to cross-border research
careers in Europe, step up the pursuit of joint research agendas,
enhance competitive funding for institutions and projects and
invest efficiently in world-class facilities.
Research stakeholder organisations
are urged to define and implement principles for accessibility and
portability of national grants, to publish job vacancies on a
common internet portal, to fill research positions according to
transparent, open and merit-based recruitment procedures and to
step up links between industry and academia.
Plus: open
access
To complement today's European
Research Area proposals, the Commission is also presenting
an initiative to promote access to, and preservation of,
scientific information. This aims at promoting open access to
research publications from EU-funded projects, as well as from
nationally funded research (see
IP/12/790and
MEMO/12/565).
The Commission proposals to achieve
the European Research Area focus on five key priorities where
progress needs to be made:
- increased effectiveness of national research systems
- improved trans-national cooperation and competition including
establishing and effectively operating key research
infrastructures
- a more open labour market for researchers
- gender equality and mainstreaming in organisations carrying out
and selecting research projects and
- optimal circulation and transfer of scientific information,
including via digital means and broader and more rapid access to
scientific publications and data.
For each priority, the Communication
identifies concrete steps to be taken by Member States, stakeholder
organisations and the European Commission, working together within
a reinforced partnership.