The people of Croatia yesterday decided that the country’s future lay with the European Union, despite the financial turmoil afflicting the bloc. They resoundingly voted yes to joining the EU, with 66% in favour. However, only 43% of those eligible to vote bothered going to the ballot box. But what will this mean for the country’s research base?

Croatia won’t become a member state until 1 July 2013, but when it does it’ll have the opportunity to apply for funding from the EU just like every other member state. And there’s a huge pot of money out there right now, after Horizon 2020 (the successor to the Framework Programme 7) was set to receive €80 billion in the EU’s budget. However, Croatian researchers looking to get their hands on some of that cash could find it more difficult than they imagine, if newer member states’ experiences are anything to go by. Scientists in countries like Hungary and Slovenia found that competition for EU funding was extremely tough, with much of it still going to the richer countries with the best funded labs, which this recent news article in Chemistry World looks at.

Patrick Walter

                  

Source:
http://prospect.rsc.org/blogs/cw/?feed=rss2