The European Parliament adopted by 512 votes to 16 with 14 abstentions, a resolution on better careers and more mobility: a European partnership for researchers, in response to the Commission Communication on the subject. It welcomes the Commission’s initiative and considers that the measures proposed should be effective in removing the main obstacles to the creation of a European Research Area. All partners at regional, national and European levels need to contribute fully.

Parliament stresses the importance of open recruitment and the portability of grants . It calls for improved availability and transparency of information on recruitment opportunities for researchers and more openness in recruitment procedures by public institutions. Recruitment information should be published on the website of the respective research institutes and on the EURAXESS website. It stresses the following:

- the need to establish a single EU career model in the field of research and to introduce an integrated system for information on offers of employment and trainee contracts, considering this to be key to the creation of a single employment market for researchers;

- the need to provide the necessary support services for researchers by simplifying application procedures and facilitating researchers' access to funding, inter alia, by means of individual grants which promote freedom of researchers to pursue research topics of their choice;

- Member States and the Commission are asked to review the necessary conditions for introducing portability of individual research grants when this enables funding bodies better to meet their research needs and researchers to access research facilities not available in their home institutions. The review should, in particular, address the consequences of portability for research institutions in Member States and the threat of the "unequal allocation of researchers" within the EU, and from and to third countries;

- the importance of making the processes for the selection and promotion of male and female researchers completely open and transparent; and to ensure a better balance between men and women within the bodies responsible for hiring and promoting researchers;

Increased mobility should be achieved by strengthening the benefits for research institutions to host researchers from other Member States by means of a “research voucher” scheme . This research voucher should transfer money for researchers and follow those participating in research institutions in Member States other than their own. This added support for mobility of researchers should be additional to current funding schemes, and the research voucher will be an incentive for Member States and for research establishments to compete in attracting the most talented scientists.

The Commission and the Member States are asked to explore the possibility of creating a European Pension Fund for researchers, regardless of the duration of the research contract.

Parliament recommends a series of measures to ensure attractive employment and working conditions, such as the provision of the necessary support services for researchers from other countries, including access to lodging, schools and childcare facilities. In order to avoid a “brain” drain" within the EU, Member States are urged to exploit better the opportunities offered by the funding schemes of the specific programme 'People', and to make returning to their home institutions more attractive for researchers by increasing their salaries or offering additional benefits. Parliament expresses its concern at the lack of flexible contracts for experienced researchers and researchers at the end of their careers. It calls on Member States to facilitate participation in the Seventh Framework Programme for research, by ensuring efficient support services, in particular national contact points. Member States must also continue to increase the budgetary resources allocated to research, as a means of creating quality jobs that comply with basic ethical principles and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU.

Parliament also recommends a series of measures aimed at enhancing the training skills and experience of European researchers. It stresses the need to improve career opportunities for young researchers, for example in terms of increased funding and allowing career advancement on the basis of achievements rather than seniority, such as innovation capacity, stages in enterprises, etc., and in supporting interdisciplinary training as well as recognising the value of interdisciplinary mobility.

Lastly, the Council, the Commission and Member States are asked to raise the profile of scientific research in the general budget, in accordance with the undertaking given to achieve 3% growth and to train 600 000 more researchers, on average, by 2010.

The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy adopted an own-initiative report by Pia Elda LOCATELLI (PES, IT) on better careers and more mobility: a European partnership for researchers, in response to the Commission Communication on the subject. It welcomes the Commission’s initiative and considers that the measures proposed should be effective in removing the main obstacles to the creation of a European Research Area. All partners at regional, national and European levels need to contribute fully.

Members call for improved availability and transparency of information on recruitment opportunities for researchers and more openness in recruitment procedures by public institutions. Recruitment information should be published on the website of the respective research institutes and on the EURAXESS website. It stressed the following:

- the need to establish a single EU career model in the field of research and to introduce an integrated system for information on offers of employment and trainee contracts, considering this to be key to the creation of a single employment market for researchers;

- the need to provide the necessary support services for researchers by simplifying application procedures and facilitating researchers' access to funding, inter alia, by means of individual grants which promote freedom of researchers to pursue research topics of their choice;

- Member States and the Commission are asked to review the necessary conditions for introducing portability of individual research grants when this enables funding bodies better to meet their research needs and researchers to access research facilities not available in their home institutions. The review should, in particular, address the consequences of portability for research institutions in Member States and the threat of the "unequal allocation of researchers" within the EU, and from and to third countries;

- the importance of making the processes for the selection and promotion of male and female researchers completely open and transparent; and to ensure a better balance between men and women within the bodies responsible for hiring and promoting researchers;

Increased mobility should be achieved by strengthening the benefits for research institutions to host researchers from other Member States by means of a “research voucher” scheme . This research voucher should transfer money for researchers and follow those participating in research institutions in Member States other than their own. This added support for mobility of researchers should be additional to current funding schemes.

The Commission and the Member States are asked to explore the possibility of creating a European Pension Fund for researchers, regardless of the duration of the research contract.

The committee recommends a series of measures to ensure attractive employment and working conditions, such as the provision of the necessary support services for researchers from other countries, including access to lodging, schools and childcare facilities. In order to avoid a "brain drain" within the EU, Member States are urged to exploit better the opportunities offered by the funding schemes of the specific programme 'People', and to make returning to their home institutions more attractive for researchers by increasing their salaries or offering additional benefits. The report expresses its concern at the lack of flexible contracts for experienced researchers and researchers at the end of their careers. It calls on Member States to facilitate participation in the Seventh Framework Programme for research, by ensuring efficient support services, in particular national contact points. Member States must also continue to increase the budgetary resources allocated to research, as a means of creating quality jobs that comply with basic ethical principles and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU.

The report also recommends a series of measures aimed at enhancing the training skills and experience of European researchers . It stresses the need to improve career opportunities for young researchers, for example in terms of increased funding and allowing career advancement on the basis of achievements rather than seniority, such as innovation capacity, stages in enterprises, etc., and in supporting interdisciplinary training as well as recognising the value of interdisciplinary mobility.

Lastly, the Council, the Commission and Member States are asked to raise the profile of scientific research in the general budget, in accordance with the undertaking given to achieve 3% growth and to train 600 000 more researchers, on average, by 2010.

Research ministers reviewed the political measures most likely to promote the careers and mobility of researchers in Europe.

On this subject, the Council noted the progress of work undertaken following the adoption of the conclusions of 26 September 2008 on "A European partnership for researchers: better careers and more mobility".

The Portuguese and Luxembourg ministers for research presented an interim report on the analysis being carried out to identify priority initiatives for swift and concrete implementation of the common objectives of the European partnership and on the investigation into what might be covered by European researcher status.

In addition, the Council noted the results of the conference on "Young researchers in Europe" held in Rennes, France, on 20 and 21 November 2008.

On the basis of the Commission communication of 23 May 2008, the Council decided to emphasise, among other aspects:

the need to accelerate progress and to amplify the initiatives designed to strengthen the attractiveness of the European higher education area and of research and of scientific careers; the need to strive to strengthen the links between the fields concerned by coordinating the Lisbon Strategy with the Bologna Process around the doctorate and the modernisation of higher education.

In that context, the March 2008 European Council, which launched the new cycle of the renewed Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs (2008-2010), asked Member States and the EU as a whole to remove barriers to the free movement of knowledge, notably by making the labour market for European researchers more open and competitive, providing better career structures, transparency and family-friendliness.

PURPOSE: to establish a European partnership to promote better careers and more mobility for researchers.

BACKGROUND: as the core producers of new knowledge and the main agents in its transfer and exploitation, researchers are indispensable for a competitive, knowledge-based EU economy. In order to retain and attract the best research talents a balanced approach is required to ensure that researchers across the EU benefit from the right training, attractive careers and the removal of barriers to their mobility.

The Commission proposed measures to increase the mobility of researchers across the European Research Area in 2001 and for their career development in 2003. These initiatives have yielded results. While EU countries still produce more science and engineering graduates and PhDs than the US and Japan, researchers make up a much lower share of the workforce in the EU. The influx of third country researchers to the EU is much lower, while the global competition for the most talented researchers is increasing with new players now able to offer attractive conditions. At the same time, concerns are growing in several Member States over the ageing of the research labour force and shortages of researchers are already becoming a problem in some regions and industries.

Raising the level of all national systems and institutions towards that of the best would go a long way to creating a world class European research system . Decisive measures are therefore needed for Europe's researchers now more than ever.

CONTENT: the 2007 Green Paper “The European Research Area: New Perspectives” launched a wide public debate on how to achieve a more open, competitive and attractive European Research Area. As one of five initiatives planned in 2008 to follow up the ERA Green Paper, this Communication proposes to develop a partnership with Member States to ensure the availability of the necessary researchers.

The partnership should make a commitment to achieving by the end of 2010 rapid, measurable progress to:

systematically open recruitment; meet the social security and supplementary pensions needs of mobile researchers; provide attractive employment and working conditions; enhance the training, skills and experience of researchers.

Coordinated action in these areas, alongside renewed efforts on existing initiatives such as increasing the take-up of the principles of the European Charter for Researchers and a Code of

Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers adopted by the Commission in 2005, would provide better job opportunities and more rewarding careers for researchers and allow greater movement between institutions, between the public and private sectors and across borders.

In order for the partnership to successfully contribute to the creation of a world class European research system each partner will need to fully contribute. It is therefore important that:

Member States , Council and Commission commit themselves to the common objectives and endorse the proposed actions ; Member States adopt a national action plan by early 2009 setting out specific objectives and actions to achieve the aims of the partnership. Given the different starting positions of each Member State each plan is expected to focus on different aspects of the overall objectives of the partnership; the priority actions identified are implemented by the end of 2010; the Commission seeks to optimise existing Community instruments , including those available through the FP7 People programme, to reinforce the partnership; as an integral part of the partnership, Member States and the Commission: i) identify good practice and where appropriate develop common guidelines ; ii) monitor progress at national and EU levels and report annually based on agreed indicators; iii) make maximum use of the existing Community legal framework for the benefit of researchers; in line with its central role in the governance of ERA initiatives, the Competitiveness Council monitors and assesses progress in the implementation of the partnership actions; at the end of the first stage of the partnership in 2010 an overall evaluation of the situation and results from actions by the partnership is made and the need for further EU action to address specific outstanding issues is considered.

The evaluation should fully incorporate the views of researchers themselves . A single contact point for researchers to notify the partnership of examples of good practice and ongoing difficulties should be considered as well as the organisation of a major conference in 2009 to provide a platform for researchers' views.

PURPOSE: to establish a European partnership to promote better careers and more mobility for researchers.

BACKGROUND: as the core producers of new knowledge and the main agents in its transfer and exploitation, researchers are indispensable for a competitive, knowledge-based EU economy. In order to retain and attract the best research talents a balanced approach is required to ensure that researchers across the EU benefit from the right training, attractive careers and the removal of barriers to their mobility.

The Commission proposed measures to increase the mobility of researchers across the European Research Area in 2001 and for their career development in 2003. These initiatives have yielded results. While EU countries still produce more science and engineering graduates and PhDs than the US and Japan, researchers make up a much lower share of the workforce in the EU. The influx of third country researchers to the EU is much lower, while the global competition for the most talented researchers is increasing with new players now able to offer attractive conditions. At the same time, concerns are growing in several Member States over the ageing of the research labour force and shortages of researchers are already becoming a problem in some regions and industries.

Raising the level of all national systems and institutions towards that of the best would go a long way to creating a world class European research system . Decisive measures are therefore needed for Europe's researchers now more than ever.

CONTENT: the 2007 Green Paper “The European Research Area: New Perspectives” launched a wide public debate on how to achieve a more open, competitive and attractive European Research Area. As one of five initiatives planned in 2008 to follow up the ERA Green Paper, this Communication proposes to develop a partnership with Member States to ensure the availability of the necessary researchers.

The partnership should make a commitment to achieving by the end of 2010 rapid, measurable progress to:

systematically open recruitment; meet the social security and supplementary pensions needs of mobile researchers; provide attractive employment and working conditions; enhance the training, skills and experience of researchers.

Coordinated action in these areas, alongside renewed efforts on existing initiatives such as increasing the take-up of the principles of the European Charter for Researchers and a Code of

Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers adopted by the Commission in 2005, would provide better job opportunities and more rewarding careers for researchers and allow greater movement between institutions, between the public and private sectors and across borders.

In order for the partnership to successfully contribute to the creation of a world class European research system each partner will need to fully contribute. It is therefore important that:

Member States , Council and Commission commit themselves to the common objectives and endorse the proposed actions ; Member States adopt a national action plan by early 2009 setting out specific objectives and actions to achieve the aims of the partnership. Given the different starting positions of each Member State each plan is expected to focus on different aspects of the overall objectives of the partnership; the priority actions identified are implemented by the end of 2010; the Commission seeks to optimise existing Community instruments , including those available through the FP7 People programme, to reinforce the partnership; as an integral part of the partnership, Member States and the Commission: i) identify good practice and where appropriate develop common guidelines ; ii) monitor progress at national and EU levels and report annually based on agreed indicators; iii) make maximum use of the existing Community legal framework for the benefit of researchers; in line with its central role in the governance of ERA initiatives, the Competitiveness Council monitors and assesses progress in the implementation of the partnership actions; at the end of the first stage of the partnership in 2010 an overall evaluation of the situation and results from actions by the partnership is made and the need for further EU action to address specific outstanding issues is considered.

The evaluation should fully incorporate the views of researchers themselves . A single contact point for researchers to notify the partnership of examples of good practice and ongoing difficulties should be considered as well as the organisation of a major conference in 2009 to provide a platform for researchers' views.