More alchemy from the political caste

Please forgive my fascination for the easy formulas offered by politicians as they promise to transform research into economic prosperity.

The European Commission is always the catalyst for this magic chemical reaction, and somewhere in the discussion the catalyst is named as none other than the European Institute of Technology (EIT).

Here's my latest alchemic discovery, published yesterday. Award winning MEP Dr. Chatzimarkakis asserts that "research is about turning money into knowledge and innovation is about turning knowledge into money".

This elegant statement of reversible chemistry reminds me of remarks made earlier by EIT champion Jerzy Buzek, MEP. Buzek believes that "it is impossible to finance innovation directly". Something is needed to fill the gap in between, he says.

Like Buzek, Chatzimarkakis calls for innovation to overcome the strong equilibrium constraints that make Europe's research treasures inaccessible to economic exploitation.

Using this logic, innovation becomes something money can't buy. Either you have it, or you don't. Or to follow these particular Parliamentarians to their logical conclusion, European researchers must innovate. On their own. Chop-chop!