EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR RESEARCH & INNOVATION
The Director-General
Brussels,
DG RTD/SH/dmm Ares(2011)  i IÇ £ f 3
Mr Radu Minea
13, General Cerchez, S. IV
040593 Bucuresti
ROMANIA
Dear Mr Minea,
I am writing to you in reply to your letters to thé Président of thé European Commission, Mr. José Manuel Barroso, and Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn of 5 January 2011 in which you express your concern about thé situation of thé Romanian research system and that of thé researchers contributing to it.
In particular, you refer to thé new Law of National Education that was adopted earlier this year, and thé way in which it was passed. Specifically, you state that thé social partners were not consulted in thé préparation of thé law. The European Commission certainly promûtes thé ideals of transparency and openness in décision making. However, thé issues that you address in your letter regarding thé National Education Law do not lie within thé compétence of thé Commission.
The Commission, and in particular DG Research and Innovation, has a constant and constructive dialogue with thé Romanian authorities in thé context of thé préparation of thé National Reform Plan in which science and innovation are taken up. The dialogue, in particular with thé National Authority for Scientific Research, takes place notably within thé European Research Area Committee (ERAC) and during visits of Commission's représentatives in thé country.
In your letter you also talk about thé misappropriation of European funds by certain actors in thé university System. This is a very serious claim. If you hâve concrète information on cases of fraud or other irrégularités impacting thé EU budget, I urge you to report thèse to OLAF, thé European Anti-Fraud Office'.
In your letter you also make référence to thé 'European Charter for Researchers and Code of Conduct for their Recruitment', which together form a Commission Recommendation to thé Member States. As a voluntary tool this Commission Recommendation relies on soft mechanisms such as awareness raising and convincing relevant stakeholders through thé power of arguments. Since its adoption in March 2005 thé Recommendation has
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gathered broad support from institutions across Europe. Almost 300 organisations hâve endorsed thé Charter & Code, representing more than 1,000 individual institutions.
From Remania, so far only three institutions hâve explicitly expressed their agreement with thé principles underlying thé Charter & Code (National R&D Institute for Textile and Leather (INCDTP), University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine in Bucharest, and University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Victor Babes" in Tlmisoara). A fourth endorsement is expected shortly from Alexandru loan Cuza University of lasi.
We would certainly welcome a stronger expression of agreement with thé Charter & Code principles both by universities and public research institutes from Romania.
To support thé implementation of thé principles underlying thé Charter & Code, thé Commission has set up an 'Institutional Human Resources Strategy Group', bringing together some 90 research employers and funders from across Europe.
Thèse organisations are developing concrète actions to better align their policies and practices to thé Charter & Code. Alexandru loan Cuza University of lasi has recently joined thé group; they are thé first Romanian institution to do so. I hope that other public research institutions in Romania will eventually also décide to take part in thé process, both by explicitly endorsing thé Charter & Code and, most importantly, by implementing it. This would send a clear signal to researchers both from Romania and abroad demonstrating thé commitment of Romanian institutions to provide attractive working conditions and fair and transparent recruitment processes, despite thé difficult économie situation of your country.
As you will be aware, on 6 October 2010 thé European Commission published a Communication on thé Europe 2020 Innovation Union flagship initiative, in which it has identified a number of key areas where urgent action is needed to better exploit Europe's huge scientific and innovation potential. Of thé more than 30 concrète action points proposed I would like to highlight just two which are of particular relevance in relation to your letter.
Commitment #1 calls on Member States to develop national stratégies to train enough researchers to meet their national R&D targets and to promote attractive employment conditions in public research institutions. Thèse stratégies hâve to be in place by thé end of this year - we will be closely monitoring thé process. With a national R&D target of 2% of GDP put forward in thé draft National Reform Programme of November 2010, Romania has a very challenging task ahead of it.
Commitment #4 announces thé proposai of a European Research Area framework and supporting measures to remove obstacles to mobility and cross-border co-operation, to be tabled in 2012 and in force by end 2014. This framework will in particular also address thé issue of attractive employment conditions and open recruitment. This means that some of thé principles underlying thé Charter & Code which are currently implemented by participating institutions on a voluntary basis could become more binding in thé future. In this context, I would like to draw your attention to thé public consultation on thé ERA framework that thé Commission will launch in thé summer, and I strongly encourage you and your organisation to contribute to it.
The préparation of thé ERA framework is closely linked to thé discussions on thé future of EU research and innovation funding after 2013. As you will be aware, on 9 February