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New pan-European research infrastructure such as CERN, the world's largest nuclear research organisation, is to be granted international organisation status and exempted from excise duty and VAT, EU research ministers decided last week.
In 2000, the European Commission first proposed the creation of a European Research Area (ERA) - a genuine European 'internal market' for research with free movement of knowledge, researchers and technology and increased pooling and coordination of scarce R&D resources to overcome duplication of activities.
After slow initial progress, the project was "relaunched" in April 2007 with a stakeholder consultation
and a Green Paper
on new perspectives for the ERA. Five new ERA initiatives were adopted to overcome persistent fragmentation of research activities, programmes and policies across Europe. Among them was a proposal
for a regulation on the Community legal framework for European Research Infrastructure (ERI), adopted by the Commission in July 2008.
In December 2008, the Council adopted a follow-up, '2020: Vision for the European Research Area', to boost EU competitiveness (EurActiv 03/12/08).
LinksDossier: ERA - European Research Area
After months of deadlock, EU research ministers accepted on 29 May a Czech EU Presidency proposal that European research infrastructure (ERI) projects be treated as international organisations for taxation purposes.
Future ERIs will include any instrument or facility that provides top-class research services to support the work of scientists in a variety of areas, including materials science, astronomy, biomedical applications and the protection of cultural heritage. They can range from icebreaker vessels for marine research to next-generation radio telescopes, and also include social surveys monitoring long-term changes in social values across Europe.
The ministers' political agreement paves the way for an EU legal framework to facilitate the joint establishment and operation of research facilities of European interest, associated countries and inter-governmental organisations.
Current national and EU laws do not meet the needs of complex research infrastructure with partners in many countries.
"The legal framework will significantly cut financial and administrative costs and clarify the legal environment for the functioning of European research infrastructure and at the same time enhance scientific cooperation," stated Miroslava Kopicová, the Czech education minister of education. "In this way it will bring down barriers to investments in science and research," she added.
The European Economic Recovery Plan also urges member states to accelerate national investment in the pan-European research infrastructure.
ERA's 'Vision 2020'
The ministers' conclusions
on the first steps taken towards the establishment of the European Research Area's (ERA) 'Vision 2020' call on the member states and the Commission to "further engage in ensuring enhanced complementarity and synergies between Community policies and instruments".
Meanwhile, EU Research Commissioner Janez Potočnik acknowledged that if ERA has seen little progress so far, it is because numerous EU initiatives on the matter "are voluntary for the member states, and thus slow," while the Commission would like things move faster.
Most research money remains in the hands of the 27 EU member states.
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