NATURE|Vol 458|30 April 2009

Romanian funding cuts call for more stringent criteria

SIR — The Lisbon summit in 2000 persuaded many governments that it was in the interest of Europe’s long-term economic growth to restore priorities in science and research expenditure; this would also help found the next generation of researchers, innovators and technicians. But these laudable aims are being undermined by the current economic crisis, which disproportionately affects the Eastern European economies. Despite generous support for all branches of science in the two years leading up to Romania’s accession to the European Union in 2007, the latest financial situation is impeding progress just as it was starting to gather momentum. The research budget for this year has been cut back to about 40% of what it was in 2008. Successful projects that won funding last year are slowing to a halt, along with the ascent of academia and industry. But it is not just a matter of curbed expenditure. Science lobbyists and policy-makers should have used the financial crisis as an opportunity to apply more stringent funding criteria to raise the quality of scientific output and accelerate progress. Romania cannot actively compete in today’s scientific and economic arenas without stimulating scientific creativity.

Tudor Luchian
Laboratory of Biophysics and Medical Physics, Department of Physics, Alexandru I. Cuza University,
Iasi, 700506, Romania
e-mail: luchian@uaic.ro