Excellence: EU research plan may widen gaps

The success of the European Union (EU) Research and Innovation programme depends on achieving critical mass among member states and optimizing each state's research contribution (see also Maciej ?ylicz Nature 517, 438; 2015). This will be difficult, given the wide variation in each state's willingness to participate and in their investment in research. Research excellence and competitiveness remain concentrated in just a few geographical areas, despite efforts by the EU to promote homogeneity. It is those regions that make the advances in research and technology, fuelling the imbalance (see K. Schwab (ed.) The Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014, World Economic Forum, 2013). The EU plan to align national research programmes could make matters worse. Closer cooperation between researchers and between states will help to secure research sponsorship and collaboration with scientists outside Europe. But these advantages are more likely to be enjoyed by high performing countries, further widening the gap from the others. The proposed alignment will also have to struggle with extra bureaucracy and delays (M. Cuijpers et al. Res. Policy 40, 565-575; 2011).