{"id":11460,"date":"2017-11-28T10:54:07","date_gmt":"2017-11-28T09:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.embl.de\/?p=11460"},"modified":"2024-03-22T11:46:26","modified_gmt":"2024-03-22T10:46:26","slug":"diplomacy-and-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/lab-matters\/diplomacy-and-science\/","title":{"rendered":"Diplomacy \u2013 What\u2019s science got to do with it?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

EMBL’s Winter Council meeting<\/a> takes place this week in Hamburg. Jana Pavlic and Plamena Markova, EMBL\u2019s new Joint Heads of Government and EU Relations<\/a>, lay out the different ways in which EMBL interacts with countries, and share how their team works behind the scenes to bring \u2013 and keep \u2013 member states on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does a country gain from being a member of EMBL?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

J: For countries joining now \u2013 mostly in Central and Eastern Europe and  countries outside Europe \u2013 membership means getting closer links to EMBL\u2019s scientific knowledge and expertise, and benefitting from the EMBL model of how research is carried out. This may not be so relevant for the countries that established EMBL in 1974, but it\u2019s a significant gain for countries that have faced the challenge of establishing themselves in the scientific community and building an international network in just the past 20 years. This just wasn\u2019t possible for many of these countries under previous political systems. Linking the communities in these countries to the EMBL community and to the communities that EMBL is already connected to, i.e. linking scientific excellence from new to established members and to EMBL, is of great benefit to the new members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what about more established members, how do they benefit?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

P: One of the reasons EMBL was created by these countries, which always had a very strong science environment, is that many projects are just not feasible or sustainable on a national level. So even for established countries with well-developed science systems, there is added value in being able to pool resources in an intergovernmental organisation and access facilities and services that would be difficult to establish and sustain at a national level. This is of course in addition to many collaborations that are only initiated through membership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

J: EMBL has also established itself as a training centre<\/a>.  This is definitely a further benefit that all member states recognise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Linking scientific excellence from new to established members and to EMBL, is of great benefit to the new members<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

How does a country decide to become a member state?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

P: Countries decide to join EMBL after much deliberation \u2013 it\u2019s not a decision made out of the blue, or on a whim! Membership is mandated by the government of the country. So we need to make sure that we\u2019re engaged with the government, and that they know what the value proposition is. At the same time we also engage very much with the scientific community, to see where the bottom-up connections are leading: what are their interests when it comes to research collaborations, what is the direction in which they want to go, how would they like to engage? Ultimately, though, the government makes the final decision, and they have many priorities to align. It\u2019s a very gradual process, which differs from case to case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

J: For me, this is one of the most exciting aspects of our job. On one hand, we need to talk to the ministries, the funding agencies and so on. On the other hand, we also speak all the time with the scientific community in these countries, with the institutes that are most prominent in the life sciences. It\u2019s so exciting to be in contact with both actors. At the end of the day, while the government is the formal partner for everything, membership would be impossible without the support of the scientific community. It\u2019s a very exciting element, getting to interact with both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

P: What\u2019s more, as a rule we involve the scientists from our side, to make sure that they also feel that they can connect to that community and are excited about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What happens once a country has decided it wants to become a member of EMBL?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

J: This is a very established, formal process. The state\u2019s minister of research sends a formal application letter to the chair of EMBL Council<\/a>, and then the decision on the accession of this country is put on the agenda of the next council meeting. A representative from the ministry is invited to that meeting, to present the country\u2019s vision for the life sciences, how they engage with the scientific community, the main projects they are working on, their investments in life science infrastructure\u2026 They have a lively discussion with our council delegates, and if the majority of EMBL council agrees, EMBL formally invites the country to become a member. After this decision, the country itself still has to go through a national ratification process, either at the level of the government or at the level of the parliament. When this decision is taken, they need to send a formal notification that they have ratified the agreement to the government of Switzerland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Switzerland?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

P: Switzerland acts as a treasurer of ratification instruments for many intergovernmental organisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

J: As one of the hosts of the UN seats, they often take such tasks on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is the process the same for all countries?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

P: This is the process for European states. Countries from outside of Europe are only eligible to become associate<\/em> member states, which involves a slightly different procedure. Countries wishing to become associate members of EMBL need to obtain a unanimous decision of council. This links back to the European core of the organisation, and being able to ensure that the relationship is really mutually beneficial and will have a high impact. After they are unanimously approved, the Director General of EMBL<\/a> and the corresponding party from the applicant country sign an agreement granting the status of associate member state. There is often no ratification on the national level, but this differs from country to country.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Different Types of EMBL Membership<\/h2>\n

Member states<\/h3>\n