Patchy start to new EU science visa law

Germany has become the fourth European country to implement a European Union directive designed to make it easier for non-European scientists to get working visas for the EU. In signing the EU directive into law, Germany follows Austria, Slovenia and Slovakia, according to the EU's research news service, Cordis. Germany spends more on research and development than any other European country -- more than 56 billion euros (US$75 billion) in 2005 -- making it by far the most significant country yet to enact the directive. The EU directive was passed in 2005 and needs to be translated into national law by EU member countries by October this year. However, there have been suggestions that at least some member states will miss the October deadline. Among the other European powerhouses for research and development, France, whose annual R&D expenditure is second to Germany's, is in the process of transposing the directive into law. But in third-ranked Britain, a spokesperson for the Home Office, the government department that handles national security and immigration, told The Scientist that the country "did not opt into the directive" and "would not be implementing it." Britain does not take part in EU-wide legal immigration policies, she said. "We do not consider they are compatible with us maintaining our own borders." The EU directive instructs countries to establish a fast-track procedure for admitting non-EU researchers, relying on local research centers to establish applicants' credentials and acknowledge their involvement in a research project.Annette Schavan, Germany's education and research minister, said the new policy would slash the bureaucratic requirements that individual researchers need for residency and employment in Germany and the European Union. "Germany and Europe will, through this, clearly profit from becoming attractive for foreign scientists," she said in a statement.Researchers who are granted permits under the new rules will be on an equal footing with EU nationals in terms of social security, working conditions, and freedom to move within the EU to carry out their research project.Kai Simons, president of the council of the European Life Scientist Organization, said attracting overseas scientists to Europe was an important issue. "I think in general we have to make it as easy as possible," he told The Scientist. "At the moment in the US it's becoming more problematic after 9/11 for scientists to get visas, so we have a unique opportunity to compete."Germany has a long history of welcoming overseas scientists said Kai, who leads a research team at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden, Germany. Other countries, such as the UK, are less welcoming, he said. However Antonia Mochan, research spokeswoman for the European Commission, said there was no reason to be concerned about the many EU countries that have yet to adopt the new directive. "I think it's far too early to say" whether countries would miss the deadline, she told The Scientist. "These things are often done at the last minute."Mochan confirmed that the UK is allowed under EU rules to decide whether or not to participate in measures relating to justice, freedom and security -- and they have decided not to in this case. She added that until October, the Commission will not know how many countries have implemented the directive. If countries don't meet the deadline and don't present a legitimate reason for not doing so (which the UK did), she said, the Commission would start formal infringement procedures, which begin with warning letters and can escalate ultimately in legal proceedings at the European Court of Justice.Stephen Pincock mail@the-scientist.comLinks within this articleCouncil Directive 2005/71/EC of 12 October 2005 on a specific procedure for admitting third-country nationals for the purposes of scientific research http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32005L0071:EN:NOT"Germany fourth to introduce EU scientific visa law," Cordis, March 30, 2007. http://cordis.europa.eu/fetch?CALLER=EN_NEWS&ACTION=D&SESSION=&RCN=27416S. Pincock, "EU law streamlines visa rules," The Scientist, October 25, 2005. http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/22809Germany's science and research landscape, Deutschland 2006. http://wm2006.deutschland.de/EN/Content/Host-Country-Germany/Germany-in-brief/germanys-science-and-research-landscape.htmlAnnette Schavan http://www.bmbf.de/en/index.phpFederal Ministry of Education and Research, "Schavan: 'Deutschland wird für ausländische Forscher attraktiver'." March 28, 2007. http://www.bmbf.de/press/2005.phpKai Simons http://www.mpi-cbg.de/research/groups/simons/leader.html

Patchy start to new EU science visa law

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