That s the best way. Not from the top down. The EC is inclined to go from the top down because it is a governmental body, and if I were a minister I would have quite other priorities. In my situation, quality first that s priority number one. And I would give a lot of money to archaeology when archaeology is good and nothing to cancer research when cancer research is bad.
Ministers of science have to do something about cancer.
But they try to do it the wrong way, in my mind, from the top down. Every two years we meet with the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Foundation to exchange views and so on. Our special space committee has American members, and we have even invited Soviet members to join. Therefore in this field we have very close international connections, although it s a nongovernmental, advisory body. How to use equipment, such as the space station, to solve scientific problems.