When it decided to aim at increasing the investment in research and development to 3% of GDP, the European Union stressed that research is a key to our future. Most European countries are still a long way from attaining this goal and sustained qualitative and quantitative efforts are needed to make it a reality.

The professional commitment of researchers must be backed up with practical and realistic measures. Mobility in particular, with its opportunities and risks, favours new experiences and contributes to innovation. We believe it is important for researchers to be able to exercise their right to mobility under favourable conditions throughout Europe.

In this context, the EUROCADRES network of researchers has submitted proposals to the European Commission as a contribution to the preparation of initiatives aimed at drawing up a "European researchers' charter" and a "code of conduct for recruitment".

Our proposals stress the need for particular attention to be paid to the situation in Central and Eastern Europe (new Member States and applicant countries) where financing and mobility levels are often limited but where there exists considerable potential in terms of young graduates. We are calling for a process that follows up the development of skills and mobility at national and European levels, with the participation of the social partners.

It is also important to follow closely the situation of young researchers who are faced with huge differences from one country to the next: they sometimes have an employment contract, sometimes are placed on an equal footing with students and sometimes have no social rights at all. Training and first jobs need to be better organised because they are often responsible for the lack of appeal of scientific careers and because they are often decisive periods when it comes to brain drain. We ask that priority be given to young researchers in future initiatives.

The EUROCADRES proposals stress the 'complementarity' of the following four instruments:

• A European Researchers' Charter:

The charter should be developed in cooperation with the social partners. It should emphasize multicultural approaches and aim to facilitate trans-European cooperation, improve working conditions for young researchers, favour partnership between universities and industry, guarantee gender equality, support the lifelong development of qualifications and skills, introduce standards and procedures in matters of intellectual property, guarantee freedom of expression including the protection of those refusing to perform work that is illegal or that violates professional ethics, improve employment and working conditions through social dialogue, etc.

• A framework for the professional development of researchers throughout Europe:

Such a framework should be complementary to the Charter to ensure continuity in career tracks in Europe and to make research careers appealing. There is a need to counter the development of uncoordinated short-term contracts during the initial years of activity of young researchers. Continuity in career tracks must be associated with promotions and the development of different posts. To this end, we propose a framework for the professional development of researchers that is based on:

• a European system for access to research job offers;
• a European portfolio for researchers to support mutual recognition of qualifications and experience;
• a European platform for supporting and following up the development of this initiative. It should involve the social partners and contribute to the choice of contracts in terms of the ties with the company/country of origin and the host company/country.

• A code of conduct for the recruitment of researchers:

The code should address issues such as: free access to job offers, information on living and working conditions, transparency of procedures, non-discrimination, recognition of diplomas, skills and qualifications, access to personal data and reasons for decisions, etc.

• An implementation process:

To guarantee implementation of all these measures, the process should include a follow-up system based on annual reports. It should involve the different stakeholders.

The detailed document can be consulted here below: