Munich

The future of science in the European Union (EU) began to take shape last week, as plans for a new basic-research funding agency gained momentum.

A high-level expert group met for the first time on 19 February in Paris, charged with outlining options for the creation of a European Research Council (ERC). The need for an independent, multidisciplinary agency has been intensively discussed during the past six months, after a meeting of scientists and research managers hosted by the Danish Research Councils (see Nature 419, 108–109; 2002). Advocates argue that the council is needed to close the gap between the quality of basic science in Europe and in the United States. It would complement the EU's €17.5-billion (US$18.8-billion) application-oriented Framework Programme.

Members of the ERC expert group, which consists of national research-council heads and other science administrators, left most details unconfirmed, but agreed on basic principles. Delegates said that the council should not become political and should be committed to scientific excellence, rather than ensuring that each country receives as much back as it puts in.

The council's structure, size and funding mechanisms have yet to be defined. In particular, it is unclear to what extent any new agency will redistribute funds from existing EU and national research programmes, or how much fresh money it is likely to bring in. Discussions at the meeting about the council's budget covered figures from hundreds of millions to tens of billions of euros.

The idea has the strong backing of at least one section of the research community. Some 300 leading life scientists and representatives of national funding agencies held an independent meeting after the expert-group gathering, to discuss the planned council. Frank Gannon, director of the European Molecular Biology Organization in Heidelberg, Germany, who helped to organize the second meeting, says that the council should focus on funding basic, investigator-driven research and supporting research infrastructure.

The expert group will refine its plans over the next few months and consult researchers outside the life sciences.

“It is important that scientists give us a feeling of what they need, and of which areas they think the council should cover,” says Mogens Flensted-Jensen, vice-chairman of the Danish Research Councils and a member of the expert group. “But it is equally important to bring the ERC to the political agenda without further delay. Our task now is to work out a concrete proposal for how to launch it as soon as possible.”

According to optimistic predictions, the council could come into being as early as 2004, when the Republic of Ireland takes over presidency of the EU, followed by the Netherlands. Both countries are expected to support the initiative.