As part of Hungary's presidency of the Council of the European Union, an Informal meeting of ministers responsible for Higher education and Research was held on September 16th and 17th 2024.
While Member States stressed the
necessity of national consultations when it comes to the
introduction of European diplomas, they also emphasized the importance of strengthening excellence in higher education and international cooperation. Head of the Croatian delegation, Director-General of the Directorate for Science and Technology, Hrvoje Meštrić, PhD, supported a
gradual approach to the introduction of European diplomas, stressing the importance of
national consultations with various stakeholders and
a stronger application of the existing Bologna „tools“.
During the research part of the meeting,
strengthening European competitiveness through research and innovation was discussed along with the necessity of reducing the fragmentation of European Research Area. Member States' representatives recalled the importance of research and innovation in the context of enhancing competitiveness (in the context of the latest Draghi report), the European Research area and the future Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. Director-General Meštrić presented the results of Croatia's efforts to increase investment in research and development and
stressed the importance of the future framework programme for research and innovation and for Member States that are still lagging behind in this area. The second discussion was held on the
contribution of scientific research freedom to the competitiveness of the European Union. Representatives of the Member States underlined the importance of scientific research freedom as well as an impartial monitoring system for scientific research. Director-General Meštrić welcomed the topic and stressed that the
freedom of scientific research is foundation of democratic society as well as an integral part of the Croatian Act on Higher Education and Scientific activity. He also stressed the importance of open science in the context of scientific research, as well as
cooperation between the European Research Area and the European Higher Education Area.
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