researchers are at the heart of knowledge creation transfer and exploitation
they are the key for europe to turn the fifth freedom the freedom of movement of knowledge into reality and with that to shape the knowledge-based economy
the supply of human resources for research is indeed best reflected in the number of new university graduates
the benchmark adopted by the education council in two thousand and three to increase by fifteen the number of graduates in member states and decrease gender imbalance by twenty ten has been reached
in two thousand and six there were in the eu twenty-seven about two hundred zero more mathematics science and technology graduates than in two thousand
it is clear that not all university graduates go into research
for the european union an additional factor here is that due to the lower share of private research investments in europe compared to other continents the market for researchers in the eu is relatively smaller than those of our competitors
on top of that there is strong competition for attracting and keeping the most talented researchers
this is first and foremost a competition between research and other economic sectors
but there is also a competition between countries and world regions in particular the us but also increasingly china and india
the european union is facing the upcoming retirement of generations of researchers in europe with no prospect of their complete replacement
the situation will get worse if young people are not attracted into the research profession
what is at stake is whether europe in the long term can remain and further develop as a world-class location for research and development
the fact is that researchers in europe are still faced with serious obstacles and a lack of opportunities
when i talk to researchers across europe i hear about unattractive working conditions and career prospects an often precarious status and short-term contracts
furthermore many researchers are still trained in a way which does not equip them with the skills needed in a modern knowledge economy
there are strong disincentives for researchers wishing to move jobs within academia and industry and vice versa
finally the structural fragmentation of the european researchers labour market hinders the transnational mobility of researchers within the european union due to in particular a lack of open merit-based recruitment and to cultural factors as well as problems encountered by highly mobile workers in such fields as social security taxation and transferability of supplementary pension rights
it is therefore high time for europe to step up its efforts to ensure the availability of the necessary researchers in the years ahead
that is precisely why the commission last may proposed a european partnership for researchers a partnership with and among member states entailing a focused framework to make rapid progress across europe in key areas determining better careers and more mobility
the council has responded favourably to this initiative and we are about to embark on its implementation centred on national action plans and mutual learning
evidence-based monitoring of progress data-collection on mobility and career patterns are also foreseen
so while we currently have very few data the aim is to provide ourselves with the better statistics that the honourable member is looking for
we have many of the other data but not exactly these specific data
the commission communication on the european partnership for researchers is currently under consideration in this parliament
the commission looks forward to parliament's opinion which will hopefully reinforce this common endeavour for the future of research in europe
