1. The launch of the ERC is both a
great moment for research in
Europe and a significant achieve-
ment for the European Union.
It is a concrete expression of the
EU’s commitment to a future based
on knowledge, Europe’s greatest
resource.
Financed from the EU’s research
budget, the European Research
Council will for the first time provide
Europe with a mechanism dedicated
exclusively to funding the brightest
and best ideas pushing forward the
frontiers of knowledge, whether
from multi-national teams or indi-
viduals. Advances in such basic
understanding can provide us with
knowledge that will equip us to
address the many varied challenges
that we face today and in the future.
So the European Research Council
fits squarely into the EU’s vision of
a globally competitive, knowledge-
based society and economy.
Looking more closely at European
research, there is a shared ambition
to create a European Research Area
– an integrated well-functioning
research policy system within Europe
that makes the most of what we
have. The ERC will make an impor-
tant contribution to that process. It
will be in an unrivalled position to shape
a truly European research landscape,
working with academia and industry,
researchers and policy-makers at
regional, national and European level.
On the ERC
The ERC – A Success Story of European Integration
European Commission
ERC_Programm_RZ.indd 8 06.02.2007 19:12:53 Uhr