Press Strengthen metrology links with science

Today the European Parliament gave the green light for the start of negotiations with EU government ministers on the metrology partnership. MEPs have also entrusted MEP Maria da Graça Carvalho with a clear mandate to lead these negotiations.

 “It is very important that there is a market uptake of metrology innovation, especially within European territory,” declared the European Parliament Rapporteur on the metrology partnership MEP Maria da Graça Carvalho.   

 “Metrology is an essential tool that allows measuring our world. It is at the service of every field of knowledge. It makes science work. It makes technology work. It makes societies evolve. It allows us to know where we stand, whether we are addressing a pandemic or implementing disruptive changes, such as the Green and Digital transitions,” da Graça Carvalho said.

 MEPs, across the political spectrum, want metrology activities to benefit all fields of knowledge and call for more openness and transparency in his field.

“This metrology partnership should be accessible to all types of stakeholders and newcomers. In our views, simplification and reduction of the administrative burden are also of high priority, especially if the partnership wants to ensure that qualified specialists in universities, research centres and in the private sector are involved. The market uptake of metrology innovation, especially within European territory, is a fundamental dimension that the partnership should address.  Links with fundamental science should be reinforced and all decisions should have a solid scientific support also through the inclusion in the steering group of experts chosen in an independent way,” the rapporteur declared.

 “In the mandate report, we have also stressed the need to make serious efforts to increase visibility of metrology activities, in particular among the general population. The green and digital transitions compel us to establish synergies and complementarities with the other Union initiatives, policies and programmes,” MEP Maria da Graca Carvalho concluded.

 BACKGROUND

 After the adoption of the Horizon Europe Programme and its €95.5bn for research and innovation, the European Commission proposed, in February 2021, ten institutionalised partnerships, one of which is the partnership on metrology.  It was proposed together with the other 9 partnerships which are covered in the so-called Single Basic Act. The proposed new metrology partnership is based on science that benefits all fields of knowledge and affects the society and the economy as a whole. It builds on the successes of the European metrology research programme and the European metrology programme on innovation and research, but it raises the stakes, with the objective of helping tackle all our key challenges, from green and digital transition to the economy that works for the people.

Read MEP Maria da Graça Carvalho report on Metrology