Vice-Chancellor says staying in the European Union is vital to maintain the UK’s role in world-leading research

pbh25 — Fri, 25 Sep 2015 08:51:16 +0000

Remaining in the European Union will allow the UK to continue its globally recognised research and tackle the most important challenges facing the world said the Vice-Chancellor of the ��Ī yesterday (25 Sept, 2015).

Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz warned in a keynote speech that the UK could lose its position as a leading light in European research and find itself on the fringes trying to “pick up the scraps”, if the UK pulled out of the EU.

Speaking at ‘Excellent research in the UK: Do we need the EU?’ the Vice-Chancellor said that 17 per cent of last year’s research income at the University, totalling £68 million, had come from the EU’s Horizon 2020 scheme– but he stressed that the importance of the Union went beyond its monetary value to UK institutions.

He said: “Even more than the funding, it is society, and society’s needs, that are the drivers that keep us going forward. In today’s competitive world we cannot stand alone.”

His speech came at the start of the event which was organised by the European Parliament Information Office, the International Unit of Universities UK, and the ��Ī.

The Vice-Chancellor said European collaborations drove the University’s fundamental purpose – to serve society through teaching, research and learning at the highest international standards of excellence.

He added: “Under Horizon 2020 we did something that was special. Europe made a statement to the whole world that it is going to be tackling global problems which are not just of petty interest in ��Ī, or East Anglia, or in the United Kingdom, but ones that will make a difference to the world – the world I am going to leave behind for my granddaughters.”

He added that issues like cancer, climate change and aging required research without boundaries, allowing free movement and collaboration between academics.

As an example he cited InnoLife Knowledge and Innovation Community, a €2.1bn project launched last year, supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, to address the impact of ageing populations and dependence. It involves 144 European companies, research institutions and universities across nine EU countries, including the ��Ī.

“That scale is exactly what is needed if we are to overcome society’s grand challenges. Put simply, we cannot access the talent, develop the infrastructure or provide the funding at a national level.”

Being inside Europe allowed the UK to help shape policy said the Chancellor, adding: “I’d rather we stay in the boat, trying to shape and to lead research policy in Europe, than to stay on the side-lines picking up scraps.”

The event also featured talks from University of East Anglia Vice-Chancellor Professor David Richardson, MEP Vicky Ford, and Professors Gerry Gilmore and Florin Udrea of the ��Ī. A panel discussion was also held, led by BBC presenter Martine Croxall.

‘Excellent research in the UK: Do we need the EU?’ event held at Downing College, ��Ī

In today’s competitive world we cannot stand alone.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz

Cédric Puisney

Parlamentarium Bruxelles

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Yes

Fair representation in Europe?

lw355 — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 09:04:00 +0000

The report, which was commissioned by the European Parliament, recommends a formula that guarantees every Member State a minimum of six seats, with proportional allocation up to the maximum of 96 seats. Three small States - Malta, Luxembourg and Cyprus - receive the minimum number of six seats, and the biggest State, Germany, receives the maximum number of 96.

For current Member States, the new formula would result in France, UK, Italy, Spain, Poland and Estonia increasing their allocation, and 15 countries reducing their allocation by up to four seats each.

This is the unanimous recommendation of a panel of experts in mathematics and public policy from seven different European universities led by Professor Geoffrey Grimmett from ��Ī's Statistical Laboratory.

The recommendations follow an invitation by the Committee on Constitutional Affairs of the European Parliament to Professor Grimmett and colleagues to determine a mathematical formula that would "eliminate the political bartering which has characterised the distribution of seats so far".

"The formula has to be durable, transparent and impartial to politics," explained Professor Grimmett. "It also needs to observe degressive proportionality, whereby the greater the population of a State, the more citizens per Member are represented."

Mr Andrew Duff, Rapporteur for the Constitutional Affairs Committee, has welcomed the report as "an unambiguous recommendation that will help Europe on the path to fairer allocations for both Member States and European Citizenry. I am delighted that ��Ī maths can come to the aid of European politics." Mr Duff has been a Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament since 1999, representing the East of England.

In total the European Parliament must be no greater than 751, with each of the 27 Member States having a minimum of six seats and a maximum of 96 seats. According to the report, the new '��Ī Compromise' formula allocates a base of five seats to each State, with the remainder allocated proportionally to population, subject to the maximum of 96. Calculated with rounding upwards of fractional allocations, this guarantees a minimum of six seats to every State.

The panel has recommended that attention be given to how the minimum should decrease in the light of future accessions to the European Union, and also that the functioning of the maximum be reviewed prior to future apportionments.

Finally, the report recommends that Eurostat be asked to review the methods used by Member States in calculating their populations.

The panel met in January 2011 at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences, ��Ī. Its members were from the University of Augsburg (Germany), École Polytechnique (Paris, France), University of Granada (Spain), Jagiellonian University (Kraków, Poland), University of Copenhagen (Denmark) and the Universities of ��Ī and Aberdeen.

The full report is available from http://www.statslab.cam.ac.uk/~grg/apportionment.html

Until now, seats in the European Parliament have been allocated by political bargaining. A fairer way has been devised by an international panel of mathematicians, as described in a report released by the ��Ī this week.

I am delighted that ��Ī maths can come to the aid of European politics.

Mr Andrew Duff, Rapporteur for the Constitutional Affairs Committee

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European Parliament Brussels

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Yes

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Vice-Chancellor says staying in the European Union is vital to maintain the UK’s role in world-leading research

Fair representation in Europe?

��Ī - European Parliament