16 June 2010 | General
COST Ministerial Conference reconfirms COST’s key role in the European Research Area (ERA)
Representatives from COST Member State governments and the European Commission gathered at the COST Ministerial Conference in Palma de Mallorca, on 15 June 2010, at the invitation of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation
Delegates reviewed the developments of COST since the last Ministerial Conference – held in Dubrovnik in 2003 – and discussed COST’s future and its contribution to achieving the objectives of the European Research Area (ERA) and priorities of the EU 2020 strategy.
The Ministerial Conference widely recognised the success of COST as an optimal tool to network and coordinate nationally funded research activities, contributing to overcoming the fragmentation of the ERA and to Europe's competitiveness and socio-economic development.
Representatives of the governments of the COST Member States and of the European Commission welcomed the vision of COST regarding its role in the ERA 2020 strategy. It was agreed that COST must continue and develop as a European initiative and a mechanism of prime importance for the strengthening of the ERA.
The declaration on COST that was adopted at the Ministerial Conference stresses the importance of the seamless continuation of COST operations, and looks forward to the role that COST will play in the future development of the ERA.
For further information on the COST Ministerial Conference, please read the press release by the Council of the European Union.
The report addressed by the COST CSO President to the COST Ministerial Conference is available for download.
