28 Establishing a European Research Area
| Committee's assessment
| Politically important |
| Committee's decision | Cleared from scrutiny
|
| Document details | Commission Communication: European Research Area Progress Report 2014
|
| Legal base | —
|
| Department | Business, Innovation and Skills
|
| Document numbers | (36335), 13197/14 + ADDs 1-10, COM(14) 575
|
Summary and Committee's conclusions
28.1 The Commission Communication reviews the progress made by
Member States towards completing the European Research Area ("the
ERA") by 2014. The goal of creating the 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.
28.2 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.[134]
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.
28.3 In October 2012, we reported on a Communication in which
the Commission set out its vision of the ERA based on the principle
of partnership between Member States and national research systems
in pursuit of scientific excellence and growth.[135]
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.
28.4 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.
28.5 In November 2013, we reported on the Commission's
first annual ERA progress report.[136]
We welcomed the emphasis placed on partnership between Member
States, research communities and EU institutions, to implement
the ERA, 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. We noted, however,
that the Commission did not rule out the possibility of legislative
initiatives if Member States made insufficient progress in completing
the ERA and indicated that we would pay particular attention to
this issue in our scrutiny of the 2014 ERA progress report.
28.6 The Commission Communication indicates that
good progress has been made towards the goal of completing the
European Research Area by 2014. We welcome its clear recognition
of the primary role of Member States and note that the UK remains
at the forefront of many of the initiatives required to implement
the European Research Area. We consider that active engagement
by all Member States will reduce the likelihood of EU legislation
to accelerate the pace of implementation.
28.7 As no new legislative initiatives are foreseen
in the Communication, we are content to clear it from scrutiny.
Full details of
the documents: Commission
Communication to the Council and the European Parliament: European
Research Area Progress Report 2014: (36335), 13197/14 +
ADDs 1-10, COM(14) 575.
Background
28.8 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:
"The Union shall have the objective of strengthening
its scientific and technological bases by achieving a European
research area in which researchers, scientific knowledge and technology
circulate freely, and encouraging it to become more competitive,
including in its industry, while promoting all the research activities
deemed necessary by virtue of other Chapters of the Treaties.
"For this purpose the Union shall, throughout
the Union, 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."[137]
The Commission Communication
28.9 This is the Commission's second annual progress
report. It provides an overview of the steps taken by Member States
and six associated countries — Iceland, Norway, Switzerland,
Serbia, Montenegro and Turkey — 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 considers how effectively ERA actions
have been implemented by organisations funding or undertaking
research activities. The Communication is accompanied by ten Commission
staff working documents (ADDs 1-10) which provide a detailed set
of "Facts and Figures" and country "fiches"
to support its findings.
MORE EFFECTIVE NATIONAL RESEARCH SYSTEMS
28.10 The Commission notes that nearly all Member
States have adopted a national strategy on research and innovation
and that their national research systems increasingly reflect
ERA priorities. There remain, nevertheless, big differences in
the way that research funding is allocated, although there is
a growing trend across Member States to link the allocation of
funding for research institutions to an assessment of their performance.
The practice of peer review is widespread across all Member States,
but there are no agreed standards on the core principles to be
applied in an international context.
OPTIMAL TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION AND COMPETITION
28.11 The Commission reports an increase in transnational
cooperation, through participation in Joint Programming Initiatives
and the development of national research infrastructure roadmaps
which link into the roadmap developed by the European Strategy
Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI). It anticipates that
at least 60% of the ESFRI roadmap projects will have been launched
by 2015.
AN OPEN LABOUR MARKET FOR RESEARCHERS
28.12 The Communication identifies a need to equip
the growing number of post-graduate doctoral candidates with the
necessary skills to work outside academia. It also advocates open
recruitment policies and geographical mobility to ensure that
research institutions are able to take on the best researchers
at all stages of their careers, adding that the research impact
of mobile researchers is nearly 20% greater than that of their
counterparts who have not moved abroad. The Commission cites data
demonstrating that countries with open and attractive research
systems perform strongly in terms of innovation, but notes that
there continue to be wide disparities in open recruitment practices
across Member States.[138]
GENDER EQUALITY AND MAINSTREAMING IN RESEARCH
28.13 Although there is evidence of far greater awareness
of gender issues in research and innovation, the Commission considers
that the pace of change is still too slow and that many disparities
remain amongst Member States. It calls for "more joined efforts
and [a] systemic strategy aiming at longer-term institutional
change in the European research system".[139]
OPTIMAL CIRCULATION, ACCESS TO AND TRANSFER OF SCIENTIFIC
KNOWLEDGE
28.14 There is growing momentum towards open access
to research publications and data, but barriers remain to the
re-use of research data and national policies, initiatives and
practices continue to be fragmented.[140]
Twenty Member States have taken specific measures to support open
access to research publications but only five have specific provisions
on open access to research data.
28.15 Progress has been made in facilitating knowledge
transfer through the development of strategic partnering and joint
research agendas involving academia and industry but, in many
Member States, policy support is not backed up with adequate financial
resources. The Commission suggests that more needs to be done
to develop the digital infrastructure to support open access policies.
OTHER CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES
28.16 The Communication underlines the importance
of mainstreaming an international dimension in all ERA activities
in order to establish Europe as "a global research powerhouse,
attract and retain the best researchers, maintain its competitiveness
and enable future cooperation with global research partners".[141]
COMPLIANCE WITH THE ERA
28.17 The Commission recognises that the pace and
level of implementation of the ERA will vary according to the
national context and policies pursued by each Member State. Most
organisations undertaking research are broadly compliant with
the ERA principles described above but, the Commission suggests,
there remains considerable scope for improvement.
COMPLETION OF THE ERA
28.18 The Commission reiterates that Member States
are the primary actors in introducing ERA reforms at national
level and supporting their implementation by organisations funding
or performing research. An increasing number of Member States
are including ERA priorities in their National Reform Programmes
(formulated as part of the European Semester). Member States have
also agreed to develop an ERA Roadmap at EU level by mid-2015
to guide national implementation of ERA reforms and remove "bottlenecks"
impeding progress. EU funding through the Horizon 2020 programme
for research and innovation will be based on ERA principles by,
for example, ensuring that beneficiaries apply the European Charter
for Researchers and Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers.
The ERA Monitoring Mechanism will continue to provide a valuable
tool for monitoring overall compliance with the ERA by Member
States and by research funding and performing organisations.
28.19 The Commission considers that the conditions
necessary for the completion of the ERA are now in place but adds
that, as with the internal market, the process of completing the
ERA will be gradual. Good progress has been made but further efforts
are required to make the ERA fully operational.
FUTURE CHALLENGES
28.20 The Commission underlines the need for a continuing
commitment to accelerate the pace of implementation of the ERA.
National research and innovation strategies should include tailor-made
national ERA action plans and initiatives. The Commission adds
that different options might need to be considered to foster the
development of the ERA, including possible legislation. It says
it will launch a debate with Member States on how best to coordinate
and align national research strategies and to pool funding to
ensure maximum impact in addressing important societal challenges.
It also calls for further synchronisation of national and European
research infrastructures, a strengthening of international cooperation,
and the inclusion of a wider range of stakeholders in the development
and implementation of national ERA action plans.
28.21 The Commission suggests that achieving a fully
functioning ERA should be a key goal of future research and innovation
policy initiatives, adding:
"This should acknowledge the need for science
to deliver sustainable solutions to societal challenges, the growing
demand for research integrity and accountability, and the drive
towards a new mode of conducting and sharing research."[142]
28.22 The Commission undertakes to facilitate the
exchange of information on best practice and utilise Horizon 2020
funding to support the functioning of the ERA. It considers that
further work is needed to develop better indicators of progress
and, possibly, to expand the scope of the ERA monitoring mechanism.
The Minister's Explanatory Memorandum of 1 October
2014
28.23 The Minister for Universities and Science (Greg
Clark) welcomes the Commission's latest progress report, adding:
"The Government continues to believe that
the ERA should be primarily driven by the Member States and that
European level legislative action to implement it should be considered
only as a last option."[143]
28.24 He notes that the UK is generally at the forefront
of efforts to implement the ERA priorities:
"The UK is, for instance, active in all
ten of the Joint Programming Initiatives and its approaches to
the issues covered by the 'open labour market for researchers'
priority constitute European best practice. It is also in the
forefront on debates relating to Open Access. The UK is therefore
already well placed in policy formation relating to the future
development of the ERA. UK implementation of the ERA priorities
has been included in the forthcoming UK Science and Innovation
Strategy document.
"Looking forward, the UK is acting as rapporteur
in the development of the ERA Roadmap mentioned several times
in the Report and will be working closely with other Member States
to ensure that this will be of use in helping all Member States
make progress on the effective implementation of the ERA."[144]
Previous Committee Reports
None, but see Thirteenth Report HC 86-xiii (2012-13),
chapter 18 (17 October 2012) and our Twenty-third report HC 83-xxi
(2013-14), chapter 16 (20 November 2013).
134 See the European Council Conclusions of February
2011 and March 2012. Back
135
See (34136); HC 86-xiii (2012-13), chapter 18 (17 October 2012). Back
136
See (35321); HC 83-xxi (2013-14), chapter 16 (20 November 2013). Back
137
See Article 179 TFEU. Back
138
These data indicate a high rate of satisfaction amongst UK-based
university researchers. Nearly 80% consider that research job
vacancies are publicly advertised and made known by their institution. Back
139
See p.6, para 2.4 of the Communication. Back
140
Open access, in an EU policy context, means free online access
to scientific information encompassing both peer-reviewed scientific
research articles and the underlying raw data. Back
141
See p.7 of the Communication. Back
142
See p.10 of the Communication. Back
143
See para 17 of the Minister's Explanatory Memorandum. Back
144
See paras 18-19 of the Minister's Explanatory Memorandum. Back
| 
