The meeting discussed how the Commission couldbest be advised on scientific matters after the role of Chief Scientific Adviser was scrapped in November 2014. The abolition of the post was met with much criticism from the scientific community who were concerned about the potential for the creation of policy without a scientific basis.
Commissioner Moedas (EU Commissioner for Science, Research and Innovation) suggested that a mechanism for high quality, timely, independent scientific advice should be set up. The mechanism draws on the wide range of scientific expertise in Europe through a close relationship with national academies and other bodies, coordinated by a high-level group of independent scientists.
A group consisting of a panel of seven independent researchers from various scientific disciplines, supported by a 25 person strong secretariat has been set up. The seven scientists are as follows:
- Polish bioinformatician Janusz Bujnicki, who leads a lab at the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw and serves on a scientific policy committee that advises Poland's science ministry;
- Dutch sociologist Pearl Dykstra from Erasmus University in Rotterdam, who has been vice president of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences since 2011;
- Portuguese materials scientist Elvira Fortunato from NOVA University in Lisbon, who listed 57 patents submitted in her name in 2012;
- German physicist and CERN director Rolf-Dieter Heuer;
- British climate researcher Julia Slingo, the chief scientist of the United Kingdom's Met Office, which provides weather and climate change forecasts;
- French Mathematician and Fields medalist Cédric Villani, who heads the Henri Poincaré Institute in Paris;
- Danish microbiologist Henrik Wegener, chief academic officer and provost of the Technical University of Denmark in Lyngby, who has expertise in food safety, zoonoses, and policy advice.
The panel was selected by a committee of three or four individuals similar to the way that the board members of the European Research Council are selected. The members of the panel were selected purely on their research excellence. The panel members will not be employees of the Commission and therefore will keep their positions as independent scientists, fitting with the principal that scientific advice attained by the Commission should:
- be independent of institutional or political interests
- bring together evidence and insights from different disciplines and approaches
- be transparent
Any Commissioner wanting scientific advice will be able to approach the high-level group, which will seek input from academies and the wider scientific community as appropriate. Up to €6 million will be available to national academies to support collaboration with the Commission.
The group will hold their first meeting in January.