European ministers adopt declaration on research freedom

Ministers from the European Research Area have adopted a declaration asserting the “relevance of the freedom of scientific research for the progress of our societies”.

The declaration, which was adopted at the Ministerial Conference on the European Research Area on 20 October, says: “The freedom of scientific research is a universal right and public good.”

It says it is a core principle of the European Union, anchored in the Charter of the Fundamental Rights of the EU.

It is also protected by the United Nations’ International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ratified by more than 170 states and has constitutional or legal status in most EU member states.

“The freedom of scientific research applies to all types of research organisations and scholarship and to all academic disciplines,” the declaration says.

It adds that freedom of thought and intellectual creativity requires also freedom and security of individuals.

“Freedom of scientific research stands for openness, exchange, excellence, internationalism, diversity, equality, integrity, curiosity, responsibility and reflexivity,” the declaration says.

“It is, therefore, a pillar of any democracy.”

Common core value in collaboration

The ministers affirmed the central role of freedom of scientific research as a common core value and principle for research cooperation within the European Research Area and with international partners.

“We see Europe as a guardian of freedom, equality and the rule of law ensuring democracy. We understand the European Research Area as the safeguard of freedom of scientific research, as the precondition for a dynamic research and innovation landscape which strives for advancement of knowledge and the benefit of society,” they said in the declaration.

The declaration says freedom of scientific research encompasses the freedom to define research questions, develop theories, gather empirical material and employ sound academic research methods as well as questioning accepted wisdom.

It also entails the right to share, disseminate and publish the results of research openly, including through training and teaching.

It asserts the freedom of researchers to express their opinion “without being disadvantaged by the system in which they work or by governmental or institutional censorship and discrimination”.

The ministers also committed to closely following the establishment of a monitoring system on academic freedom in the European Higher Education Area and assess its implications for research, in particular with respect to potential indicators and monitoring methods and their relevance for monitoring freedom of scientific research within the European Research Area.

They said freedom of scientific research should be a “visible common norm” guiding any research and innovation policy dialogue and any research collaboration involving EU member states or international partner countries or regions.

‘Important step for academic freedom’

The Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany issued a joint statement welcoming the declaration as “an important step for academic freedom”.

“With the declaration, politics is strengthening and flanking the efforts of scientific organisations to achieve worldwide scientific freedom,” said Professor Dr Peter-André Alt, president of the German University Rectors’ Conference (HRK) currently in charge of the Alliance.

“We need such clear political signals for freedom of research as a fundamental value of the European Union and as a principle of international research cooperation. Mobility and free exchange are prerequisites for successful science,” he said.

The declaration asserts that research and the freedom to conduct research are “indispensable prerequisites for our social, cultural, political and economic resilience and progress”.

“Scientific research benefits the people and society through the advancement of knowledge. Freedom of scientific research is a necessary condition for researchers to produce, share and transfer knowledge as a public good for the well-being of society,” it says.

“Our hopes and our ambitions to achieve a better future also depend on the freedom of scientific research.”

The signatories of the ‘Bonn Declaration’ undertake to protect critical discourse and to outlaw violations of the freedom of research. That means the protection of researchers by state institutions as well as protection against state interference in the freedom of research, the Alliance said.

Alt said the agreement to continuous monitoring of the state of research freedom is extremely important: “We will take those responsible at their word and, if necessary, press for consequences. As the greatest good, freedom of science must not be subject to any restrictions based on political motives.”

Alt stressed that the declaration must be followed by political action to protect the freedoms the declaration upholds.

“Defending the freedom of science also includes removing the ground from populist factual distortions. Science regards it as its responsible task to communicate scientific processes and results clearly and as comprehensibly as possible and to engage in discussions about them. [This is] an important contribution to anchoring awareness of the importance of independent research in society.”

In many countries, the freedom of science is acutely endangered, scientists are restricted in their work opportunities, persecuted as opponents of the regime or even arrested, the Alliance noted.

Its statement said science in Germany has undertaken to continue to offer more and more protection and perspectives for threatened scientists from abroad in its own organisations and to actively participate in programmes and networks such as Academy in Exile or the international organisation Scholars at Risk.

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Basic Law, the Alliance adopted 10 theses on academic freedom as a voluntary commitment in August last year.

The Alliance’s members include the German Research Foundation; the German Rectors’ Conference; DAAD, the German academic exchange service; the German Council of Science and Humanities; the German National Academy of Sciences; the Humboldt Foundation; the Max Planck Society; the Leibniz Association; the Fraunhofer Society, and the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres.