Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on The European Research Area — New Perspectives
Date: 2007-10-11
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: EU research policy, industrial property, organisation of research, public-private partnership, research programme, scientific education, scientific exchange

15.12.2007

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on ‘The European Research Area — New Perspectives’

(2007/C 305/06)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

— highlights that the process of the creation of the European Research Area needs to be intensified, if
the aim of making Europe the leading knowledge society and the most dynamic economy is to be
achieved; regions, through supportive programming, structural and legislative framework conditions
in the context of their research policies, make a significant contribution to the creation of a vibrant
European Research Area;

— supports the idea of coordination of regional, national and EU research programmes and priorities;
however, bearing in mind the subsidiarity principle, emphasises the responsibility of Member States
and regional and local authorities for science and research, and continues to reject centralised research
planned at European level;

— considers progress in the mobility of scientists, including necessary adjustments in the areas of resi-
dence law and pensions, along with supporting family-friendly measures, to be especially important to
the development of a European Research Area;

— emphasises the need to create standards and protection rights for intellectual property; the develop-
ment of a European charter for the handling of intellectual property from public research and higher
education institutes could make a significant contribution to shaping the European Research Area and
to promoting cooperation networks;

— encourages universities and colleges to explore new avenues of cooperation between public institution
and the private sector, for example through joint public and private innovation funds. Universities and
colleges must be seen and supported as drivers of innovation in their regions.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Reference documents

Green Paper on the European Research Area — New Perspectives

COM(2007) 161 final

Communication on Improving knowledge transfer between research institutions and industry across Europe: embra-
cing open innovation — Implementing the Lisbon agenda

COM(2007) 182 final

Rapporteur: Michael SCHROEREN (DE/EPP), Member of the North Rhine-Westphalia Landtag

Policy recommendations

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

highlights the great significance of

1.
the creation of a
European Research Area for Europe's economic and social devel-
opment and ability to innovate, for the achievement of the
Lisbon goals,
for the sustainable and balanced growth and
success of Europe's regions, and for improving its citizens'
quality of life;

2.
agrees that, since the decision by the Lisbon European
Council of March 2000 to create a European Research Area,
significant measures have been launched to make it a reality;
however, this process needs to be intensified if
the aim of
making Europe the leading knowledge society and the most
dynamic economy is to be achieved;

the Commission's

therefore welcomes

3.
in
launching, with the Green Paper, an assessment of the progress,
successes and failures on the road to the European Research
Area since it was set up in 2000 and discussing new ideas
taking into account new developments;

initiative

considers progress in the mobility of scientists, including
4.
necessary adjustments
residence law and
in the areas of
pensions, along with supporting family-friendly measures, to be
especially important to the development of a European Research
Area. Furthermore, better coordination and cooperation among
Member States and the regions with regard to research
programmes may lead to synergies and thus to added value for
the European Research Area. This will strengthen Europe's
competitiveness on the worldwide knowledge market. In this
context,
through
cooperation in innovation clusters, is urgently needed. The EU's
funding programmes, in particular FP8 for research, technolo-
gical development and demonstration, should be expanded and
targeted accordingly, and the latter should be linked even more
closely than hitherto with the European Structural Funds;

improved knowledge

transfer,

inter

alia

5.
highlights the significance of the regions, which, through
supportive programming, structural and legislative framework
conditions in the context of their research policies, make a
significant contribution to creating European added value in the
field of research and to the creation of a living European
research area. The EU should only legislate where this appears
indispensable to the creation of a European Research Area and
where coordinating measures, inter alia under the open method
of coordination, are not sufficient. Beyond this, the Committee
continues to reject any centralised planning at European level;

6.
would draw attention to the major importance of cities
and regions in developing innovative environments. Their poli-
cies have a substantial impact both on establishing the European
research area in terms of the mobility of scientists — only versa-
tile, tolerant and innovative environments attract scientists —
and as centres of development for research infrastructure. Rele-
vant here are local innovation policies, technology centres, busi-
ness incubators, science parks and venture capital;

believes that a perspective that is generally absent from
7.
the ERA Green Paper is that close cooperation between publicly
funded research and other society players also applies to local
and regional authorities.
Industry, which is mentioned with
reference to certain situations, is not the only one concerned. In
many Member States the local and regional level is responsible
for important areas of public welfare services. Closer coopera-
tion between academia and public players is important and
there is a great need for ‘social innovations’, not least in order
to meet the major challenges facing society and, in so doing,
help to achieve the Lisbon Strategy;

In relation to the mobility of scientists

agrees that the mobility of scientists across institutions,
8.
sectors and countries is of great significance to the further devel-
opment and passing on of knowledge, and should therefore
become a natural and integral part of today's CVs and careers;

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9.
shares the view that at present, the mobility of scientists is
often hindered by an inadequate legislative and institutional
framework, as well as by poor working conditions and obstacles
to careers;

regional, national and private funding needs to be attracted for
this purpose. In this context, achieving the target of 3 % of
GDP, two-thirds of which is to come from the private sector, is
of decisive importance;

training scientists

in
the importance of
emphasises
10.
different parts of
including the new
the European Union,
Member States. Training scientists throughout the Union will
guarantee more equal opportunities, also in terms of access to
training, thus ensuring that Europe's talent potential
is opti-
mised to the benefit of the whole Union. This perspective high-
lights the importance of funding for universities and research
institutes as well as of EU and national funding instruments,
and measures by local and regional authorities;

reiterates its view that, in order to guarantee the interna-
16.
tional competitiveness of the European Research Area, impetus
needs to be given to the networking and further development of
existing research institutes. The European Structural Funds could
make a significant contribution to the funding and establish-
ment of new research infrastructure. In addition, efforts towards
closer links with the RFP should be made. This aspect and/or
the role of
the Structural Funds in establishing a European
Research Area so far receives too little attention in the Green
Paper;

local

authorities

encourages

and regional

11.
to take
such measures as are in their power to improve mobility in all
in particular between academia and industry. Close
areas,
pan-European cooperation between businesses, universities and
involving political actors
colleges, and research institutes,
and administrations at
is
very important in this context. The proportion of women in
In this context,
academic careers must be steadily increased.
flexible careers and working time arrangements, arrangements
for transferability of pension rights, childcare services that are
fit for purpose and other supporting family-friendly measures
(e.g. assistance in getting spouses' and partners' careers off the
ground) are of the utmost importance;

local, regional and national

level,

stresses the need to attract excellent academics from
12.
outside Europe and therefore emphasises the importance of EU
mobility programmes such as the Marie Curie programme and
measures that have been taken in some regions to support
returning academics;

13.
with this in mind, supports in principle the need for
greater opening up of regional and national R & D programmes.
However, there is a need for clarification as to how this is done
in practice;

14.
highlights the role of the EU in supporting better coordi-
nation of efforts by national bodies to promote mobility, by
using the open method of coordination to create transparency
and highlight examples of best practice from the regions;

calls for the issue of implementing and financing the
17.
European Roadmap published by the European Strategy Forum
(ESFRI) to be discussed as an important milestone in the crea-
tion of a European Research Area. In doing so, clear and trans-
parent decision-making processes and the criterion of excellence
should be at the forefront;

therefore welcomes the efforts being made in various
18.
regions to facilitate more private involvement by giving universi-
ties and colleges greater autonomy. It expressly encourages them
to explore new avenues of cooperation between public institu-
tion and the private sector, for example through joint public
and private innovation funds, which could be trailblazing exam-
ples of sustainable use and safeguarding of public money.
Colleges must, more than has hitherto been the case, be seen
and supported as drivers of innovation in their regions, and be
involved in the relevant discussions at regional, national and
European level;

believes that better coordination of public and private
19.
R&D activities, as well as those of the EU Member States, is
needed and that the open method of coordination is an appro-
priate means of achieving synergies in this area;

In relation to strengthening research institutes and driving them
towards excellence

In relation to the creation of excellent research infrastructure

restates its belief in the need to create modern and effi-
15.
cient European research infrastructure, in particular through the
creation of modern virtual networks and knowledge databases.
It also supports the view that, in addition to European resources,

20.
emphasises the significance of colleges and non-univer-
sity research institutes for fundamental and applied research as
drivers of development of culture, the economy, and society as a
whole in their regions and in supra-regional contexts. With this
in mind, the Committee advocates a wide-ranging interpretation
of the concept of innovation, going beyond a purely economic
meaning;

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21.
stresses the importance of cross-border cooperation of
colleges and research institutes with non-university partners in
industry and commerce, government, culture and other sections
of society;

transfer of knowledge and scientific discoveries,
inter alia to
inform policymaking, and also supports the transfer of knowl-
edge via international networking;

22.
supports efforts towards the creation of virtual skills
centres and, in this context, draws attention to the efforts of
regions to support the cooperation of stakeholders in clusters,
including virtual ones;

29.
emphasises, particularly against the background of inter-
national cooperation, the need to create standards and protec-
tion rights for intellectual property. The absence of such stan-
dards and protection would be a serious impediment to confi-
dence in interinstitutional and cross-border cooperation,
for
example in clusters and centres of excellence;

and demonstration — and calls

23.
welcomes the activities of the EU to strengthen these
measures through appropriate funding programmes, or actions
as part of those programmes — for example under the seventh
EU framework programme for research, technological develop-
ment
relevant
programmes to be further developed in a targeted fashion, with
the aim of stronger cooperation of the above-mentioned institu-
tions and stakeholders so as to achieve the necessary critical
mass and the creation of excellent, internationally visible clus-
ters;

the

for

notes that as the aim is to achieve critical mass at the
24.
level of research institutes, this critical mass depends on the
subject of study, the research area and the participants. A ‘one
size fits all’ approach should not be applied to all research areas
or all forms of support;

welcomes the objective put forward in the Green Paper
25.
finding an appropriate balance between institutional and
of
competitive funding. In line with its previously expressed views,
the Committee of the Regions calls for the debate about the
appropriate balance between institutional and competitive
funding to continue. How this balance is struck is very impor-
tant to the dynamics of the system;

26.
is inclined, as it has pointed out previously, to have more
faith in scientists and their teams selecting interesting and useful
areas of research and in voluntary (bottom-up) networking than
in processes managed heavily from above and the ritualised
cooperation that these entail;

27.
at the same time, stresses the need to ensure not only
the promotion of excellence and high achievement, but also
good education and training for the people in every region as
the foundation for individual and collective prosperity and for
the ability of regions to innovate;

In relation to a democratic and effective transfer of knowledge

28.
agrees with the analysis concerning the great significance
of digital media for a democratic and effective cross-border

reiterates its view that, with this in mind, the systematic
30.
development and implementation of European and international
standards should be promoted and should be supported by the
publication of examples of best practice,
in particular in the
transfer of knowledge between industry and public-sector
research. In this context, the development of a European charter
for the handling of intellectual property from public research
and higher education institutes could make a significant contri-
bution to shaping the European Research Area and to
promoting cooperation networks;

31.
stresses that provision must be made for the inclusion
and involvement of the regions and SMEs even in large EU
cooperation projects such as the European Technology Institute;

In relation to the coordination of research programmes and priorities

supports

32.
regional and
the idea of coordination of
national research programmes and priorities with a view to a
European Research Area and research market and with the aim
of better coordination of individual countries' research activities
and greater focus on the shared aim of creating a European
Research Area. However, bearing in mind the subsidiarity prin-
ciple, the Committee emphasises the responsibility of Member
States and regional and local authorities
science and
research, and continues to reject centralised research planned at
European level;

for

33.
reiterates its view that providing local and regional
authorities with a research-friendly framework could make a
significant contribution to the creation of a European research
area and of research that is coordinated inter alia in terms of its
content. This happens through EU funding programmes such as
the seventh EU framework programme for research, but consid-
erable progress in this area could also be made by means of
appropriately agreed and structured programmes that allowed
for
synergies between the Structural Funds and research
funding;

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recognises that research and innovation models that are
34.
successful
in one region cannot simply be copied and trans-
ferred to other regions or political entities. However, if proper
account is taken of the respective structural, social and cultural
circumstances, they can serve as examples for the development
of appropriate models in other regions, including disadvantaged
ones;

agrees that the ERA Net programme for coordinating
35.
regional and European research programmes has demonstrated
its value and should be developed further;

36.
points out that EU benchmarking will only be accepted
in the regions if it takes into account each region's specific
conditions for, stages of and requirements for development. If
benchmarking in the EU is to be successful,
indicators and
investigation methods must be developed that allow a proper
comparison between regions and lead to meaningful results. The
involvement of the regions in this development process is an
essential prerequisite for the future success of any benchmarking
exercise;

to

try

that

they

formulate

regrets the fact

37.
the ERA Green Paper does not
address ‘social platforms’, which are a genuine innovation in
that
strategic
research efforts around major challenges
facing European
society, e.g. the environment, ageing population and integration.
The socio-economic sciences and humanities section of
the
December 2006 cooperation work programme does, however,
mention social platforms for cities and social cohesion, which is

implement

and

to be welcomed. It is, however, important that the Commission
should continue to develop this innovative approach to the
research issues of
tomorrow, as it is already doing through
discussions between scientists, public players, businesses and
civil society, etc.;

In relation to the openness of the European Research Area to the rest
of the world

38.
supports the idea that science and research are interna-
tional in nature and emphasises the need for cooperation that
goes beyond the EU, and for exchange of knowledge and scien-
tists;

39.
welcomes the activities of Member States aimed at
improving such international cooperation by creating helpful
framework conditions such as appropriate modernisation of
for close cooperation among
immigration law, and calls
Member States in this area;

Next steps:

welcomes
a

the European Commission's

in
40.
launching
the
comprehensive public debate
Committee of the Regions, during which the proposed priority
topics and measures for the creation of a European Research
Area taking into account the subsidiarity principle that applies
in the area of research need to be fleshed out.

involving

initiative

Brussels, 11 October 2007.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Michel DELEBARRE