In signing this statement, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science and the EIROforum (Such as CERN, ESA and EMBL) members agree to cooperate to further European research in general, and the European Research Area in particular.

Thanks to this agreement EIROforum organisations and the European Commission will play a more decisive role in promoting the quality of European research and innovation and foster the international dimension of ERA encouraging Europe's best scientists and engineers to work together in world-class research infrastructures at the heart of innovation.

"As leaders in our fields of scientific research we play an active role, every day, in turning the European Research Area into a reality. At EIROforum we therefore have considerable experience and expertise, which we will strive to make available to the Commission for the benefit of Europe as a whole," Iain Mattaj, Chairman of EIROforum, says.

The areas covered by this enhanced collaboration range from research programming to e-science, including human resources and training and mobility of researchers; research infrastructures; intellectual property and knowledge sharing; international cooperation in research; science education and communication.

Sources:

European Commission; EIROforum.