It was to have been a leading European institute for innovation and state-of-the-art technology. After all, researchers in Europe need to cooperate more and better in order to raise the level of both science and the economy. But the ambitious plan has been stripped down to leave nothing more than a university joint venture: the European Institute of Technology (EIT).
The European member states, however, didn't at all feel like establishing such a new bureaucratic institute. They've no inclination whatsoever towards supporting the idea of having such a collection of researchers in one spot. So, a joint venture is all that remains. Maria van der Hoeven, the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, comments:
"Everything doesn't need to be in one spot. The point is that you bring knowledge together, preferably in such a way that it will lead to more knowledge. We shouldn't create a situation where we take all the knowledge out of the universities and bring it together in one spot, to the effect that you drain the national universities."Dire need
The European Commission believes there is a dire need for just such an institute. But why? Because:
- Europe's higher education and research is too fragmented;
- There aren't enough outstanding top researchers;
- Private enterprise isn't investing enough in research and education;
- It would prevent top talents from leaving the EU.
Still, the final joint venture is a mere rehash of the original plans. But that doesn't need to be a problem at all, says Professor Maarten Steinbuch of the Technical University Eindhoven, the Netherlands. He thinks it could give Europe a major economic impetus.
"Although it wouldn't be without problems, the idea of having all the Internet facilities and doing video conferences sounds good to me. Of course, it would be nicer to all be in one building with a number of researchers. Nevertheless, I do believe that if this network enables you to communicate more with one another, you can become much stronger together."Not surprisingly, the Eindhoven university does indeed intend to cooperate as fully as possible with the European Institute of Technology.
European disease
It seems to be something of a European disease: grand, compelling plans are launched, only to end up as modest initiatives. Often, the European Commission is very ambitious whereas the member states are reserved, mainly because they are simply not willing to finance the plans. A few examples:
- The Galileo positioning system has been delayed, because the member states don't feel like paying for it;
- The European Commission wanted to increase the European budget by many billions of euros. The member states prevented this from happening; they wanted a tighter budget:
- Stimulating more competition between electricity companies in order to bring down prices has proved to be a difficult process, because the member states want to protect their own business communities.
So, Brussels is and has been hindered on more than one occasion by reluctant EU member states. Usually it's a matter of power and money. But seldom has a 'European' proposal been stripped so bare as the one that was to have created the truly prestigious version of the European Institute of Technology.
*Translation RNW (fd/ts)
Tags: EIT, EU, European Commission, European Institute of Technology, Maarten Steinbuch, Maria van der Hoeven, Technical University Eindhoven