A couple of weeks ago I attended the informal meeting of the Competitiveness Council Ministers in Slovenia together with Finance, Economy and Investment Minister Tonio Fenech. The Slovenian Presidency dedicated this informal meeting to develop further the partnership into two areas; reaching a common long-term shared vision on the European Research Area (ERA) and setting the broad principles of better governance of ERA.
The Green Paper issued by the European Commission, entitled “The European Research Area: New Perspectives”, recognises the challenges posed to Europe to invest in research. One recurring problem in the majority of member states of the European Union is the “brain-drain” and the shortage of researchers in Europe. This is felt also locally and Malta believes that Europe needs to implement better the contractual conditions of researchers. Promotion and appreciation of a research career in society at large may in turn lead to more students opting to take up the research curricula.
Malta strongly believes that the European Research Area should be developed at the European level to ensure more consistency throughout the union. However there should be equal developments from the national and regional levels. As a country we may encounter possible obstacles to fully enjoy all the benefits of this European Research Area, due to its fragile research base. Nonetheless, Malta views the realisation of ERA as a crucial step and is looking forward to discussions on how this will be developed.
As a country, we also believe that ERA should not be for the European Union alone but it should also act as a catalyst to encourage more third countries to be attracted to this European Research Area. On these grounds, it is being suggested that the EU creates a European Passport for Researchers. However discussions are still ongoing on this subject locally and therefore Malta is not yet in a position to commit itself to the realisation of this action.
The realisation of this European Research Area will only be possible thanks to the solid foundations which have been created in recent years. The instruments created, such as the Seventh Framework Programme, have helped in creating the right balance of coordination between Member States and the European Union.
The several targets which have to be reached under the Lisbon Strategy need to be more research-focused, in the sense that the research element needs to be more prominent in such discussions. Malta believes that research is often viewed as an unattainable target and its importance is often not stressed enough.
Nonetheless as a country we believe that the formulation of the European Research Area needs to be integrated with the main aims of the Lisbon Strategy and should not stand alone.
A better generation in research and the use of knowledge is crucial if the EU is to achieve its’ economic, social and environmental ambitions. We must work hard to invest in research, for our students to take up research as their area of study in order to be as competitive as possible. As the European Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potoncik puts it, “our future depends on Europe becoming a true knowledge society”.
Dr Jason Azzopardi is Parliamentary Secretary for Revenues and Lands
[email protected]