29 August 2007

'More' should mean 'better' in research...

More news from the European Commission about how it plans to foster research in the European Research Area.

Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik explained that 'Europe needs more research, but we will never have more research without more researchers'. Potocnik is taking advantage of the Summer Pause to promote the European Network of Mobility Centres (ERA-MORE), which aims to get researchers moving around Europe.

This is a great endorsement for increasing European research efforts but I miss, a little bit, a focus on quality.

It's heady stuff, but then that is never really in short supply in these kinds of announcements. Another memorable one was Potocnik's recent declaration that knowledge should be a "fifth freedom of movement" in the EU after the free movement of goods, services, capital and labour.