Hungarian minister: Europe needs turnaround in competitiveness

Next week’s meeting of European Union higher education and research ministers in Budapest will focus on restarting Europe’s competitiveness, the culture and innovation minister said on Saturday.

In a video statement, Balázs Hankó said it was “unacceptable” that central and eastern Europe had one-tenth of the resources for research per inhabitant compared to western Europe. He said it was therefore crucial to bolster relations among European regions and create a level playing field in innovation in the interest of boosting Europe’s competitiveness.

Concerning the two-day meeting of EU higher education and research ministers starting on Monday, Hankó said the recent Draghi report also showed the need for a turnaround in competitiveness, as the EU’s competitiveness has declined by 8 percent over the past decade, and both China and the United States have overtaken Europe.

Ministers will discuss two recommendations aimed at addressing the EU’s competitiveness and strengthening EU cooperation in research and innovation, he said. The meeting will also touch on the plans for a European degree, he added.

Hankó said Hungary recommended that Europe take a look at the Hungarian university and vocational training model centred on cooperation between universities and economic players.

Meanwhile, the minister said Hungarian students and researchers were still waiting for answers as to why they have been excluded from the Erasmus and Horizon programmes. He said international cooperation in these areas was fundamental in the interest of a competitive Europe, noting that this was why Hungary has launched the Pannonia and HU-rizont programmes.

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