Strengthening research ties within Europe and beyond | News

(l-r) Director of Fusion for Energy (F4E) – Johannes Schwemmer, Director for Science at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) – Robert Ivison, Director General of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) – Edith Heard, European Commission’s Director-general for research and innovation- Jean-Eric Paquet, Director General of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) – Fabiola Gianotti, EUROfusion Programme Manager – Tony Donné, Associate Director and Head of Science at Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) – Mark Johnson European Space Agency – Claudie Haignere, Chairman of the Management Board of the European XFEL – Robert Feidenhans’L, Director General at European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)- Francesco Sette

As CERN prepares to take over the EIROforum chairmanship from EUROfusion in July, the Director Generals of the EIROs met in Brussels from 28^th -29^th May. Among the attendees at this high level council meeting were Jean-Eric Paquet, Director-General Research and Innovation European Commission and Paul Dabbar, Under Secretary of Energy for Science, US Department of Energy.

EIROforum is the unified platform for the eight European organisations that form the backbone of fundamental science research in Europe. And, each organisation brings onto the table its extensive expertise in the areas of basic research and management of what can be considered “Big Science.” The aim is to combine resources, facilities and expertise of the member organisations to support European science in reaching its full potential.

The discussions at the meeting covered topics ranging from Intellectual Properties Matters related to International Collaborations to the vision for CERN, its plans for the next EIROforum chairmanship and a presentation on Software Licensing Issues.

First from left: Senior Advisor to Under Secretary for Energy – Chris Fall , fifth from left United States Department of Energy Under Secretary – Paul M. Dabbar

DG Jean-Eric Paquet and EIROforum Council had the opportunity to discuss matters related to European Science and Innovation policies. DG RTD Director-General stressed that the EIROforum members are key actors in European Science. Director-General Jean-Eric Paquet highlighted that the European Commission will continue to explore cooperation on a number of topics, such as the role of Research Infrastructures in Missions and further developing international collaborations beyond Europe.

DG Paquet’s sentiments were echoed by Under Secretary Paul Dabbar, who thanked the EIROforum Council for the invitation and emphasised that the United States and Europe share the same values on open science. He added that the United States Department of Energy is very open to further collaborations with Europe and it is looking forward to new opportunities to work with European Research Infrastructures.