"Intellectual Capital - Creative Impact" Ministerial conference on the European Research Area and Informal meeting of Research Ministers in Sopot, Poland - Main contents

Ministerial conference on the European Research Area and Informal meeting of Research Ministers in Sopot, Poland

A ministerial conference on the European Research Area (ERA) and an informal meeting of the EU Competitiveness Council will take place in Sopot, Poland on July 20th and 21st respectively under auspices of the Polish Presidency of the EU. The Polish Minister of Science and Higher Education, Barbara Kudrycka, will chair both events; the European Commission will be represented by Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science Máire Geoghegan-Quinn i. The ERA conference will address the need to better exploit the intellectual potential of Europe, notably through the completion of the European Research Area by 2014. The central topic of the informal Council meeting will be preparation of the future "Horizon 2020" funding framework for research and innovation.

Ministerial Conference on the European Research Area (ERA), 20 July

This will be the first ministerial conference, taking place at the request of the European Council in 2010, to provide regular strategic orientations for the realisation of ERA, which could be described in simple terms as a single market for knowledge, where ideas and those responsible for generating them circulate freely without legislative or economic barriers. ERA should thus remove obstacles to researcher mobility and to cross-border co-operation.

The completion of ERA is a formal objective under the Lisbon Treaty and the European Council in February 2011 endorsed the Commission's proposal under the Innovation Union action plan that ERA should be completed by 2014

The meeting will feed into the Commission's preparation for its proposal on an ERA framework to be presented in 2012. A public consultation will start in September.

High-level speakers from universities, research institutes and industry will participate in the conference sessions. The focus will be on developing and using Europe’s "intellectual capital" to pull Europe out of the current economic crisis and to build long-term sustainable growth.

As part of the Innovation Union, the Commission has already introduced specific initiatives such as the unitary patent proposal, measures to improve standardisation, and launching the pilot European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing. However, many other issues still need to be tackled such as improving researchers' careers, better training and mobility, and the modernisation of universities so that Europe can draw full benefit from its human capital.

Informal meeting of Research Ministers, 21 July

The informal meeting will address the future of EU funding for research and innovation which is a central component of the Europe 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. In particular, the meeting will address the low participation of some Member States and regions in EU research and innovation programmes up until now, synergies with EU cohesion policy, and maximising the participation of small and medium-size enterprises.

Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn's main message will be that:

"The EU needs to prioritise innovation as the motor for growth. We need an integrated and strategic approach, whereby our innovation objectives shape our policies in all relevant areas and at the highest level.

"The Commission proposal for a significant increase in research and innovation funding for the period 2014-2020 reflects the need for an anti-crisis EU budget, a pro-jobs budget and a budget for tackling our biggest challenges.

"Excellence is the basis for successful research and innovation funding. It is also essential to recognise that success depends on the full involvement of all regions and countries across the Union. It will be a key priority of the Horizon 2020 Framework to tackle the "research and innovation gap" and to maximise the contribution of all countries and regions."

The informal meeting of Ministers will be followed up by two formal Competitiveness Councils in September and December 2011 under the Polish Presidency.