Barroso pledges to create European Chief Scientist role

Barroso: re-
elected, and ready to appoint a Chief Scientist.

As he wooed MEPs with promises of a “transformational agenda for Europe” based on a “special partnership between the Parliament and the Commission,” Barroso also promised some concrete moves, including a “fundamental review” of the way European institutions access and use scientific advice.

“In the next Commission, I want to set up a chief scientific adviser who has the power to deliver proactive, scientific advice throughout all stages of policy development and delivery,” he said.

Barroso added that this underlines “the central importance” that he attaches to research and innovation.

Barroso also committed to inject more scientific objectivity into policies to deal with climate change, saying he will set up a Commissioner for Climate Action to reflect the fact this, “is a challenge that needs to be addressed across the whole range of our policies.”

Warm welcome

The announcements were “warmly welcomed” by John Wood, Chair of the European Research Advisory Board (ERAB), a high-level grouping of academic and industrial scientists that is currently debating the future shape of research in Europe. ERAB’s first report will be published on 6 October.

Wood said Barroso’s commitments on a European Chief Scientist and Climate Action Commissioner, “resonate directly with our forthcoming report for the Commission and are desperately needed.”

Wood added, “If the European Research Area is to deliver all or part of the solutions to the future challenges that we face, we need to encourage mobility and responsibility, coupled with openness and transparency – for both the public and private sectors. I hope that the new Commission will take these ideas forward with alacrity, as time is running out.”

There have long been calls for the Directorates of the European Commission to have their own independent sources of scientific advice to draw on when formulating policies and directives. For example, David King, former UK chief scientist, is among the scientific heavyweights who have argued that the European Commission needs to embed scientific advice in its policy making.

The environment is often highlighted as an area where more scientific input would result in better policy-making. An example is the way in which the – obviously worthy – push to increase the use of biofuels led to an increase in food prices. The incentives on offer, led farmers to substitute food crops with ones earmarked for biofuels, and crops that had been grown for food were processed for fuel.

The current R&D Commissioner, Janez Potočnik may have done an excellent job over the past five years but he does not have the over-arching responsibility of the proposed European Chief Scientist. Nor does the Research Directorate General under J. Silva Rodriguez, where the brief is limited to developing R&D policy, coordinating European research activity with that of member states, “supporting” policies in fields such as environment, health, energy and regional development, and promoting public understanding of science.

Barroso also promised investment in new sources of sustainable growth and the building of “networks of the future” ranging from digital infrastructure, to supergrids for electricity and gas. “We cannot and must not return to the previous growth model: it has clearly proved unsustainable. We have to create the conditions where the transition to a low carbon economy is a source of competitive advantage for business, a source of jobs for workers and a source of hope for future generations,” Barroso told MEPs.