Euro Science Looks To New Council

[zavvy]

<b>Euro Science Looks To New Council </b><br /><br />LINK<br /><br />A European Research Council to fund science across the EU is close to being realised, says the European Commission. <br /><br />The EC told a Washington conference it also wanted to double annual science funding from five to 13 billion euros (£3.5-9bn or $6.5-17bn). <br /><br />The council (ERC) is conceived as being independent from the Commission. <br /><br />It could be set up as early as 2006, if the proposals are accepted by both the European Parliament and the European Council of Ministers. <br /><br />The EC's comments were made by Brussels officials attending the annual meeting here of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. <br /><br />In Europe, research is funded by individual national agencies as well as the EU's Framework 6 programme (FP6). But FP6 has been criticised widely for being over-bureaucratic, skewed towards big, complex collaborations and subject to political pressures. <br /><br />Perceived shortcomings have led to calls for a European Research Council to support basic research across all disciplines. <br /><br />Campaign groups have warned that unless Europe streamlines its funding process, it risks losing top scientists to other countries, notably the United States, where the investment process is seen as being more efficient. <br /><br />The ERC is envisioned as an independent, quality-driven funding body run by scientists, modelled on the US National Science Foundation and National Institutes for Health. <br /><br />Supporters argue that it would drive up the competitiveness and, by extension, the quality of scientific research within Europe. <br /><br /><br />The EU's 25 member states invest roughly £120bn a year in research and development, compared with more than £210bn spent by the US. <br /><br />This disparity in research funding is already feeding a brain drain of scientists from Europe to th