News

The European Institute of Technology (EIT) had been put forward as one of the cornerstones of the European Commission strategy to relaunch the Lisbon Agenda and went on to win the support of the European leaders on the last spring summit in Brussels. The European Council has however stipulated that the EIT is to be implemented in the form of a network of existing institutions. Some actors regarded such structural change as being in direct relation with concerns previously voiced by institutions such as the European Research Advisory Board. However, on the 30th of March the Council of the European University Association unanimously approved a position paper where it states that the EIT proposal “threatens to fragment Europe’s Universities” thus putting the EIT back at the centre of the ongoing discussions about how to attain the goals of the Lisbon Agenda.

External links:

• Comission’s Communication on the IET (22 February, pdf file)
• Results of the public consultation on a concept of a European Institute of Technology (13 March, pdf file)
• EUA policy position on the EIT (30 March, pdf file)
• Financial Times article on the EIT (10 April)