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Scientists in Slovenia are celebrating the appointment of Janez Potočnik as the new European commissioner for research. The 46-year-old will take charge of the European Union's science policy and budget on November 1, for a 5-year term.
An economist who led the EU negotiating team of Slovenia–which joined the European Union on May 1 this year–Potočnik said that he is committed to the objective of raising the amount Europe spends on research and development to an average of 3% of gross domestic product.
"The task ahead of me is a real challenge–to contribute to making the most out of the huge research potential in Europe," he said in a statement.
He added that science and research are among "the most important [ways] for achieving the goals of the Lisbon Strategy," which aims to make Europe one of the most competitive knowledge-based economies in the world.
Potočnik and outgoing commissioner Philippe Busquin met on August 27. The issues they could have discussed include the mooted creation of a European Research Council to fund basic research and plans for a doubling of the EU research budget to 10 billion euros a year between 2007 and 2013.
Milos Komac, state undersecretary in the Slovenian Ministry of Science and Technology, said that one of Potočnik's particular strengths was his knowledge of science in the new EU member states from Eastern Europe, and in other smaller EU member states.
"If Europe is to be able to compete with the United States, we will have to develop a European Research Area, with more networks and more mobility. The 10 Eastern European members and all the small countries will also have to be integrated into this project if it is to really succeed," Komac told The Scientist. "Europe has a lot of work to do in improving its universities and keeping good scientists. We must work together."
Komac noted that Potočnik had experience leading an institute of applied research–albeit in the field of economics–as the head of the Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development, Ljubljana, Slovenia. "He knows from first hand experience the problems of researchers," said Komac.
Zeks Bostjan, president of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, told The Scientist that Potočnik's abilities as a negotiator would stand him in good stead in his efforts to integrate the science communities of the 25 EU member states into a single European research bloc.
Bostjan said that Potočnik, who does not belong to any political party, enjoys the reputation of being a very able technocrat. "He was Slovenia's negotiator during our talks to enter the European Union and he has a lot of experience in this. He is also a very popular man, very polite and easy to work with," Bostjan said.
Bostjan added that he did not expect scientists in Slovenia to benefit directly from Potočnik's appointment. "Of course, he is working for the whole European Union, and will treat Slovenia as he does any other EU state, big or small, but his appointment is still a sign for us that Slovenia is emerging from the backwaters," he said.
"The problems we scientists face in Slovenia are more or less the same as scientists in the other Eastern European countries and small countries, and Potočnik knows these problems," Bostjan said.
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