16 Establishing a European Research
Area
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| Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament: European Research Area Progress Report 2013
Commission Staff Working Document: Research area facts and figures 2013
Commission Staff Working Document: Country fiches for EU Member States
Commission Staff Working Document: Country fiches for countries associated to the EU Framework Programme
Commission Staff Working Document: National measures in support of the European Research Area — EU Member States
Commission Staff Working Document: National measures in support of the European Research Area — Associated countries
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| Legal base | —
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| Document originated | 20 September 2013
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| Deposited in Parliament | 25 September 2013
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| Department | Business, Innovation and Skills
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 8 October 2013
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| Previous Committee Report | None
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| Discussion in Council | First discussion at the European Council on 24 October 2013
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared
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Background
16.1 The objective of creating a European Research Area ('ERA')
was first articulated in 2000 as part of the Lisbon Strategy to
transform the EU into a highly competitive and dynamic knowledge-based
economy. The ERA now forms a central plank of the Europe 2020
Strategy and its accompanying Innovation Union flagship initiative
which seek to develop the EU's research and innovation capacity
in order to create sustainable growth and jobs. The ERA is sometimes
described as the EU's new 'fifth freedom', extending the principle
of the free circulation of goods, persons, services and capital,
which forms the basis of the EU's internal market, to the free
circulation of researchers, scientific knowledge and technology.
The purpose of the ERA is set out more fully in Article 179 of
the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ("TFEU")
which provides that it shall:
16.2 "encourage undertakings, including
small and medium-sized undertakings, research centres and universities
in their research and technological development activities of
high quality; it shall support their efforts to cooperate with
one another, aiming, notably at permitting researchers to cooperate
freely across borders and at enabling undertakings to exploit
the internal market potential to the full, in particular through
the opening up of national public contracts, the definition of
common standards and the removal of legal and fiscal obstacles
to that cooperation."[70]
16.3 The European Council has recognised the
potential of the ERA to attract scientific talent and investment
and has called for its completion by 2014 in order to create a
genuine single market for knowledge, research and innovation.[71]
Once in place, the Commission anticipates that the ERA will enable
the EU and Member States to optimise the return on substantial
levels of public investment in research and innovation. As part
of the Europe 2020 Strategy, Member States have endorsed a headline
target which commits them to raising the level of public and private
investment in research and development to three per cent of their
GDP. At EU level, the Horizon 2020 Programme will have a budget
of around €70 billion to fund research and innovation for
the period 2014-20.
16.4 In October 2012, we reported on a Communication
in which the Commission set out its vision of a European Research
Area based on the principle of partnership between Member States
and national research systems in pursuit of scientific excellence
and growth.[72] The
Communication reviewed the progress made so far in developing
the ERA, highlighting various initiatives undertaken at national
or EU level to promote greater coordination and collaboration
in both the planning and implementation of research programmes,
to develop research infrastructures, and to facilitate the mobility
of researchers and the dissemination of the fruits of research.
It also called for "a reinforced ERA partnership" between
Member States, the Commission and research stakeholder organisations
in order to complete the ERA by 2014, based on a set of recommended
actions or reforms in five priority areas:
- more effective national research
systems;
- optimal transnational cooperation and competition;
- an open labour market for researchers;
- gender equality and mainstreaming in research;
and
- optimal circulation, access to, and transfer
of, scientific knowledge.
16.5 The Commission also highlighted the need
for a more robust ERA monitoring mechanism, based on a set of
indicators of progress, to track implementation of the reforms
and actions envisaged in the Communication, and indicated that
it would publish a first annual ERA progress report in 2013.
The Commission Progress Report for 2013
16.6 The Commission's first progress report provides
an overview of the steps taken by Member States and three associated
countries — Iceland, Norway and Switzerland — to implement
the actions and reforms set out in the 2012 Communication with
a view to achieving a European Research Area by 2014. It assesses
the progress made in each of the five priority areas, based on
an analysis of different national policy measures and information
provided by organisations funding or undertaking research activities.
The report is accompanied by five Commission staff working documents
providing detailed statistical data and country fiches (ADDs 1-3)
and a tabular summary of measures taken at national level to implement
the European Research Area (ADDs 4-5).
MORE EFFECTIVE NATIONAL RESEARCH SYSTEMS
16.7 The report recognises the continuous pressure
on national R&D research budgets, but suggests that the structural
reforms needed to establish a European Research Area should help
Member States to use limited resources more efficiently, maximise
the return on their investment and increase the effectiveness
of research at national and EU level. It highlights the importance
of competitive research funding and peer review as a means of
enhancing the quality of research and concludes:
16.8 "While the balance between competitive
and non-competitive funding is a matter of national choice, competitive
funding and performance based institutional assessments should
be at the core of research funding decisions in Member States,
applying the core principles of international peer review."[73]
TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION
16.9 The report underlines the need for critical
mass to address major societal challenges and achieve a higher
impact with limited resources but notes that, if funding for the
European Space Agency and from the EU's current 7th
Framework R&D Programme is excluded, less than 1% of national
public R&D funding is spent on transnational research and
there is little coordination of national research programmes.
The report urges Member States to:
16.10 "better align national research programmes
in order to implement commonly agreed strategic research agendas
in the context of joint programming. They should also improve
interoperability between national programmes in order to facilitate
further cross-border research cooperation."[74]
16.11 Although a large number of research infrastructures
are available across the EU, the report notes that they are not
always easy to access and calls for greater transparency on the
conditions for transnational access, adding:
16.12 "Horizon 2020 will continue to integrate
and open up key existing national research infrastructures of
pan-European and regional interest to all European researchers,
from both academia and industry, and to ensure their optimal use
and joint development."[75]
16.13 The report says that the Commission will
develop a Charter for cross-border access to, and use of, research
infrastructures but it also calls on Member States to:
16.14 "address financial, management and
political barriers for the development and implementation of research
infrastructures. They should align research infrastructures roadmaps
and coordinate their development."[76]
AN OPEN LABOUR MARKET FOR RESEARCHERS
16.15 The report urges Member States and research
organisations to ensure that all research positions are subject
to open, transparent and merit-based recruitment practices in
order to draw from the widest pool of talent and foster excellence
and mobility. Member States should remove barriers impeding access
by non-residents to national grants and encourage mobility by
providing for the portability of grants. The report highlights
the benefits of "fast-track immigration" in attracting
the best global talent. It also calls for greater industry engagement
in post-graduate doctoral training with a view to encouraging
more researchers to work in industry. The Horizon 2020 Programme
will include funding for European Research Area Chairs to help
universities and research organisations achieve excellence in
their fields of research and to compete at an international level.
GENDER EQUALITY AND MAINSTREAMING IN RESEARCH
16.16 Despite significant growth in the number
of female PhD graduates, there are relatively few women researchers
and an even smaller number in senior management positions in the
higher education sector.[77]
The report calls on Member States to implement comprehensive
strategies of structural change to overcome gender gaps in research
institutions and to ensure that the gender dimension is reflected
in national research programmes. It notes that both elements
— gender equality and the gender dimension of research and
innovation programmes — will be an important component of
funding under the Horizon 2020 Programme.
OPTIMAL CIRCULATION AND TRANSFER OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE
16.17 The report notes that open access to research
publications will be mandatory for research and innovation funded
by the Horizon 2020 Programme. It says that Member States should
continue their efforts to provide open access to publications
produced as a result of publicly funded research and to establish
a policy framework for extending open access to data (whilst taking
into account intellectual property rights). Member States are
also encouraged to implement the digital dimension of the European
Research Area by, for example, providing online access to digital
research services, and to promote open innovation and knowledge
transfer. The report calls for "a structural and cultural
change in the research and innovation system" as a means
of increasing the economic and social impact of research.[78]
16.18 Progress in the five priority areas identified
in the 2012 Communication will, the Commission suggests, "help
make Europe an attractive location for globally mobile researchers
and research and innovation investment."[79]
It considers, however, that the European research and innovation
landscape remains "fragmented" and that Member States
need to step up their efforts so that investment in research and
development becomes a tool for economic recovery. It highlights
the Horizon 2020 Programme and EU Structural and Investment Funds
for 2014-20, alongside national public research funding, as important
means of delivering an integrated European Research Area.
16.19 A further progress report will be published
in 2014. It will consider whether the "reinforced ERA partnership"
called for in the 2012 Communication has succeeded in completing
the European Research Area or whether other (possibly legislative)
measures may be necessary.
The Government's view
16.20 The Minister for Universities and Science
(Mr David Willetts) questions whether the research stakeholder
survey carried out by the Commission to inform the content of
its first progress report on the European Research Area is based
on sufficiently robust data. He notes that the Commission acknowledges
the need to treat the results with caution since only one in three
of those surveyed responded to the Commission's questionnaire.
(3,450 out of a total of 10,500 possible responses). He continues:
16.21 "Overall the facts and figures presented
for the UK demonstrate good progress, as do the UK fiches. Where
data is missing we will flag up with the Commission to prevent
any errors being carried forward to the 2014 progress report.
We will also continue to work through the European Research Area
Committee (ERAC) to influence the EMM (European monitoring mechanism)
so that it is robust, fit for purpose and minimises bureaucracy
for the UK research community.
16.22 "However, it is difficult to see how
this document can provide a robust baseline against which to assess
further progress. This matters because it is the possible basis
for the Commission considering other options, including legislation,
after the 2014 ERA progress report."[80]
16.23 The Minister's Explanatory Memorandum addresses
in some detail progress made by the UK in each of the priority
areas considered in the Commission's report, highlighting in particular:
- the allocation of research
funding on the basis of excellence and open and competitive calls
for proposals;
- the application of international peer review
principles;
- the UK's active participation in the EU's 7th
R&D Framework Programme (receiving 14.8% of total available
funding) and its leading role in three Joint Programming Initiatives
on neurodegenerative diseases, agriculture, food, security and
climate change, and cultural heritage;
- the UK's active participation in many European
Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructure projects;
- ease of access to UK research infrastructures
for UK and non-UK nationals;
- the use of open, transparent and merit-based
recruitment practices for all research positions;
- provision for pension portability;
- adoption by the UK Research Councils of principles
for innovative doctoral training;
- a clear legal framework on equality in the Equality
Act 2010 which includes a public sector equality duty (applicable
to universities and research councils) to consider gender issues
in shaping policies, delivering services and employing staff;
- recognition of the good employment practices
for female academics and researchers working in science, engineering
and technology set out in the Athena SWAN Charter;
- the establishment of an Equality and Diversity
Panel as part of the Research Excellence Framework for higher
education institutions; and
- support for Open Access to scientific publications.
16.24 The Minister considers that the Commission's
recommendation on the portability of national grants "goes
well beyond the brief and rather muted coverage of this issue
in the supporting documentation" and questions the feasibility
of "open ended accessibility to and portability of national
grants."[81] He
suggests that a Report produced by an ERA working group on human
resources and mobility in May 2013 sets out less radical and more
realistic recommendations.
16.25 The Minister also suggests that, in addressing
gender equality and mainstreaming in research, the Commission
should adhere to the recommendation made by its Expert Group on
the Research Profession in 2012, which urged Member States and
employing organisations to "reflect on their current practices
to ensure that selection committees are representative of the
population they serve and remember that women now out-number men
amongst graduates."[82]
16.26 Overall, subject to the Government's reservations
concerning the data used by the Commission for its first progress
report, the Minister considers that the UK "has a good position
on the key priority areas and through its heavy involvement with
initiatives like joint programming can demonstrate its commitment
to research cooperation and collaboration within Europe."
He continues:
16.27 "If this were just about the strength
of the UK research base the policy implications of the report's
recommendations would be limited; however the completion of the
ERA also relies on progress made in other Member States. It will
be important for all Member States to demonstrate positive progress
if the possibility of legislation is to be avoided."
[83]
16.28 The Minister welcomes the continuing emphasis
placed on partnership between Member States, the Commission and
research stakeholder organisations, rather than legislation, as
a means of achieving the European Research Area. He also supports
the Commission's intention to embed ERA reforms within the governance
cycle of the European Semester in order to set national research
policies in their broader economic context, adding that research
and innovation are already key components of the UK's economic
growth agenda.
16.29 Finally, the Minister notes that the UK's
devolved administrations have an interest in European research
policy and that the Scottish Government wishes to highlight the
role of devolved institutions such as the Scottish Funding Council,
Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise and Universities
Scotland in enabling UK-wide bodies to deliver their research
strategies in Scotland.
Conclusion
16.30 We thank the Minister for his informative
Explanatory Memorandum which demonstrates that the UK has achieved
many of the reforms needed to implement the European Research
Area. As we indicated in our earlier Report on the Commission's
2012 Communication, we welcome the emphasis placed on partnership
between Member States, research communities and EU institutions,
as well as recognition by the Commission that Member States remain
the primary actors in developing the conditions in which research
and innovation can thrive.
16.31 We note the Government's reservations
concerning the reliability and robustness of the data used by
the Commission to produce its first progress report and agree
that a solid evidence base is necessary for the next progress
report, in 2014, particularly if it raises the prospect of new
legislative initiatives to ensure that the European Research Area
is implemented in all Member States. We will pay particular attention
to this issue in our scrutiny of the 2014 report, but are content
to clear the current document from scrutiny.
70 See Article 179(2) TFEU. Back
71
See the European Council Conclusions of February 2011 and March
2012. Back
72
See (34136); HC 86-xiii (2012-13), chapter 18 (17 October 2012). Back
73
See p.4 of the Commission's report. Back
74
See p.5 of the Commission's report. Back
75
Ibid. Back
76
See p.6 of the Commission's report. Back
77
The report cites the following figures: women represent 46% of
EU PhD graduates, 33% of researchers, 20% of senior academic staff,
15.5% of heads of research institutions, and 10% of rectors in
the higher education sector. Back
78
See p.9 of the Commission's report. Back
79
Ibid. Back
80
See paras 39-40 of the Minister's Explanatory Memorandum. Back
81
See the section on Policy implications in the Minister's Explanatory
Memorandum. Back
82
See the section on Policy implications in the Minister's Explanatory
Memorandum. Back
83
See para 32 of the Minister's Explanatory Memorandum. Back
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