The following is an excerpt from a recent interview with Cristina Garmendia, Spanish Minister of Science, in connection with the Spanish Presidency of the EU (emphasis is ours):
What initiatives do you intend to set in motion to strengthen the European Research Area ?
We hope to reach important agreements on the mobility of researchers. There is widespread agreement on this issue and for the first time it will be brought before the Employment Council in March. This will be the first time that a group of ministers comes before another council. The science delegation will address the ministers for employment on the need to develop a knowledge economy, and in order to achieve this, researchers must have complete freedom of movement. We must put particular focus on recognising the social security entitlements of a group of people who are necessary in Europe and also inherently highly mobile. Making progress on the construction of the European Research Area would be a wonderful example of the commitment of all European countries to building a better Europe.
The rest of the interview can be found here.