Obstacles to researchers’ mobility in the EU

Obstacles to researchers’ mobility in the EU - Cristina Jiménez, 4 February 2010 Science Business

Although the free mobility of researchers within the EU was one of the priorities of the European Research Area (ERA) at its creation in 2000, many obstacles to mobility remain. Some of them are ingrained in the lack of flexibility national systems show towards foreign workers. In Germany, Italy and Spain, what can only be described as opaque recruitment practices for senior positions are common. But researchers also complain about the everyday practical problems that they suffer when moving from one country to another for work.