Future research and innovation are to move across borders with more ease than they do today, potentially affecting outcomes far beyond the laboratory. The European Parliament has passed a long-debated law formally establishing the European Research Area (ERA), a move Brussels hopes will strengthen the EU’s scientific edge in an increasingly competitive global landscape.
A cancer drug developed in a laboratory thousands of kilometres away could reach patients on the other side of the continent more quickly. A start-up developing electric car batteries could bring a cheaper, more powerful model by building on research carried out abroad. A scientist from a town on Europe’s periphery could move easily between leading universities in France or Germany without having to start from scratch each time.
Those are the ambitions behind the European Research Area (ERA) Act, adopted on 10 March by the European Parliament with a convincing majority of 399 to 78. The legislation establishes a legal framework linking research and innovation institutions across EU member states. It should allow scientists to collaborate more easily between laboratories in different countries and speed up the process through which research results make their way into real-world applications. Smaller universities and institutes could also gain better access to funding and infrastructure that has been dominated by bigger players.
Strategic autonomy at stake
For ordinary citizens, the changes could eventually mean faster access to new medicines, technologies and innovations. A stronger European research ecosystem is also intended to help keep talented scientists in Europe and reinforce the bloc’s strategic autonomy as global competition in science and technology intensifies.
Open access to research data should allow companies, start-ups and the wider public to use new discoveries more quickly. The ERA Act also promotes equality and diversity in science, a goal supporters say will improve both the quality and the breadth of research projects.
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Not everyone, however, is fully on board. Some universities warn the ERA Act must not add yet another layer of bureaucracy to a system where researchers already spend a significant portion of their time dealing with such matter. Others fear that a one-size-fits-all solution could undermine the autonomy of universities or national research systems. “It should avoid implementing overly restrictive measures that would risk placing additional burden on researchers and lead to limited autonomy for institutions,” European University Association wrote in the statement.
Brain drain within the EU
Critics also argue that without higher investment from member states, the ambition of a truly integrated European research area could remain more political aspiration than practical reality. One of the goals is gradually to increase research spending to three per cent of GDP across the EU. Yet several countries remain reluctant to commit to that target.
It should avoid implementing overly restrictive measures that would risk placing additional burden on researchers and lead to limited autonomy for institutions. — European University Association
Another sensitive issue is the risk of a deepening ‘brain drain’ within the EU. One of the project’s key aims is to make it easier for scientists to move between countries. But greater mobility could also accelerate the flow of talent from poorer or smaller member states to wealthier research hubs. Researchers from central and eastern Europe already move in large numbers to countries offering higher salaries, better laboratories and more stable grant systems — most notably Germany, the Netherlands and the Nordic countries.
