The European Commission has chosen Scottish biochemist Anne Glover as the first EU chief scientific adviser, Nature reported.
Glover, who has been serving as chief scientific adviser for Scotland since August 2006, hasn’t confirmed the appointment, according to the news website. She is expected to leave her current post on 21 December and the Scottish government advertised for a replacement on 9 November.
The Commission has declined to comment, and said the Commission’s President José Manuel Barroso would make an announcement in the coming weeks. If confirmed, the appointment would come over two years after Barroso pledged to create the post, in September 2009.
In an interview with Research Europe in 2008, Glover said she viewed her Scottish adviser’s role as independent from government. “My position is not political. Governments come and go, but chief scientific advisers stay,” she said.
Last year, Research Europe revealed that the adviser would report directly to Barroso, rather than to the directorate general for research.
In April this year, Barroso told Research Europe that the appointment had been delayed because the salary offered was too low to compete with industry offers. “Unfortunately the candidates are much better paid at what they are doing now than in the Commission,” Barroso said.