From our correspondents: Who cares about the ERA?

A ‘single market for research’ requires member states to back the European Research Area vision

The test for any policy made in Brussels is whether it has an impact outside Brussels. One policy that has been knocking around since 2000, struggling to gain momentum, is the European Research Area. 

The idea, which initially stemmed from the European Commission, is to create a single market for research, innovation and technology. EU-level initiatives such as open science, shared research infrastructures and researcher mobility programmes all have a role to play, but the ERA is, at its heart, meant to be achieved by “strongly aligning” the research policies and programmes of the bloc’s member states.