Can Europe help counter Cameron’s cuts?

By Glenis Willmott MEP

While EU leaders looked to Egypt at yesterday’s Brussels summit, the original focus on investment in research shouldn’t be overlooked.

International summits are strange affairs. Yesterday EU leaders were back in Brussels for the yet another summit that appears to be one thing on paper and quite another in the media briefing rooms.

Of course this disconnect between the formal agenda and the real action is easy to explain.

With world leaders together in the same room for just a few hours, there is little time for them to actually strike a deal or reach agreement. Instead the work is done in advance by teams of diplomats who shuttle up and down corridors finalising texts that simply need the ‘i’s to be dotted and ‘t’s crossed.

So by the time the big boys arrive (you can see from this spotters guide to EU leaders that Cathy Ashton is one of just four women among the 32 people attending the summit) it’s often just a question of going through the motions, meaning that the interesting stuff is often that which hadn’t been planned for.

This week events in Egypt have naturally – and correctly – dominated coverage of the discussions. And with the continuing debate about providing stability to the euro, the original theme of this week’s summit – securing future energy supplies and boosting research and innovation – has been quietly signed off with little fanfare.

However, that shouldn’t mean the spotlight falls completely away from these topics. A secure, stable and greener energy policy isn’t exactly a sexy policy area, but it’s vitally important for us all, and one on which we can only make headway by cooperating with our EU partners.

The innovation debate is also one that is potentially embarrassing for David Cameron. EU leaders agree that boosting our education and research sectors is vital if we are to stay competitive on the global stage.

Yet government cuts are hitting the sector just when we need it to flourish.

We need European support for research and science to continue. At a time when our universities and research centres are facing dramatic cuts, European money is one of the few sources of funding that isn’t drying up.

But even this cannot be guaranteed. Last year David Cameron made it clear that he will not support an increase in the EU budget. A similar stance has been taken by Labour MEPs.

However, that position means that we need to see real reform of EU agricultural subsidies, so that money can be redirected to investment in the skills and facilities that will drive our economic recovery.

Sadly, there is little evidence to show that the government is seriously committed to change. Cameron consistently focuses his efforts on rhetoric that plays to the press gallery back home rather than taking up serious reform.

In fact, rumours suggest he has already done a backroom deal with the French president to leave wasteful subsidies untouched. If true, then he has failed people in the research community who are already struggling with the impact of cutbacks.