Slovenia is one of eight EU member states that have already transposed the directive which smooths entry of third-country researchers into the 27-nation bloc. All member states are obliged to introduce visas for non-EU nationals coming to carry out a research project for more than three months by October 2007.
While eight countries have transposed the directive on a specific procedure for admitting third-country nationals for purposes of scientific research, no country has followed recommendations on research projects lasting less than three months, according to the European Commission.
Slovenia is currently crafting implementing regulations which will fully implement the directive in the national legislation, the European Commission says.
Like Austria, Germany, Belgium, France, Greece, Lithuania and Slovakia, which have transposed the directive, Slovenia has assured Brussels it will put the regulation into effect by 12 October.
This is the deadline by which member states need to adopt laws and regulations in order to comply with the directive.
European Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik has reiterated several times that the EU is working on enforcing a "fifth freedom", that is free movement of knowledge.
According to the Slovenian commissioner, "brain circulation" is an imperative today, which is why researchers need to be given the opportunity to work abroad, while barriers to their mobility must be removed. This, however, cannot be done without commitment on the part of governments and the corporate sector.
The directive sets forth terms under which non-EU researchers are admitted to the EU for more than three months, for the purpose of carrying out a research project under a hosting agreement with a research organisation.
It clearly specifies what the terms research, research organisation and researcher stand for, as well as stipulates that the terms granted under this scheme do not apply to asylum seekers, students or researchers seconded by a research organisation to another research organisation in a different member state.
A research organisation wishing to host a researcher has to sign a hosting agreement with him or her whereby the researcher undertakes to complete the research project. The hosting agreement automatically ends if the researcher is not admitted or once the legal relationship between the researcher at the research organisation comes to an end.
Such an agreement is a condition for the researcher to get a residence permit for at least a year. The hosting agreement may be extended, while it can also be valid for less than a year if the planned duration of the project is shorter.
Hosting lasting less than three months is subject to the recommendation on scientific visas, which is not binding on EU countries. This is also the reason why practice differs across member states, according to the Commission, which says that no member state has followed the recommendation on short-term visas.
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