EIROforum is an organization consisting of the seven largest scientific European international organizations devoted to fostering mutual activities. Presided upon by the Director Generals of the individual organizations, who meet twice a year, the organization aims to identify mutual activities amongst its members to share resources in various fields.

The seven EIROforum members are:

• CERN - European Organization for Nuclear Research
• EFDA - European Fusion Development Agreement
• EMBL - European Molecular Biology Laboratory
• ESA - European Space Agency
• ESO - European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere
• ESRF - European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
• ILL - Institut Laue Langevin

Major Activities

The EIROforum plays a crucial role to establish a European Research Area. It works closely both with the European Union and national institutions and actively participates in shaping science policy in Europe. The member organisations engage in cutting-edge research activities and pool their substantial expertise in basic research resources by interacting to find common synergies.

The five major areas of activity are:

• Science Policy
• Research Collaborations
• Outreach and Education
• Human Resources
• Technology

Some of its major achievements has been to provide input to shaping a scientific research policy in Europe as part of the new treaty. In the technology area, for instance, Grid technology, amongst other IT technologies has been a driving force to bring closer collaboration on the sharing of a common infrastructure for the benefit of various fields of the member organizations; in particular: nuclear physics, astronomy and microbiology.

External links

Article in European Commission's Magazine on European Research