Joint commitment to achieving ERA reaffirmed

The European Commission and organisations representing key research organisations and research funding bodies have reaffirmed their joint commitment to achieving the goals of the European Research Area (ERA).

They have signed a joint declaration on continued and closer co-operation. European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science Máire Geoghegan-Quinn signed on behalf of the European Commission. The six research stakeholder organisations represented were the European Association of Research and Technological Organisations (EARTO), the European University Association (EUA), the League of European Research Universities (LERU), NordForsk, Science Europe and the Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research (CESAER).

A year and half after the ERA Communication ‘A Reinforced European Research Area Partnership for Excellence and Growth’, which launched the reinforced partnership between Stakeholder Organisations (SHOs) and the Commission, the joint declaration renews political support for the initiative, and recognises the key role which stakeholder organisations will continue to play in realising a true European Research Area.

Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn said: “This partnership so far has made real progress towards the goals of ERA. Yet there is much more still to do and working towards ERA’s key priorities is more urgent and important than ever. Continued commitment is now required by the stakeholder organisations and indeed by member states.”

In the last three years, the need to achieve ERA has been plainly recognised by the European Council in its conclusions of February 2011, March 2012 and October 2013. The Commission, in its Annual Growth Survey 2014, has explicitly mentioned the protection of investment in research and innovation as well as the role of ERA objectives in modernising national research systems.