Are we moving towards an integrated European Research Area?

This empirical paper addresses the question whether the European science base has become more coherent and more integrated during the years immediately prior to the EU27 expansion in 2004. Comparative quantitative indicators describe and analyze broad patterns and macro-level trends within intra-EU scientific cooperation, at various high aggregate “macro” levels, drawing on bibliometric analysis of jointly authored research articles published in the years 2001–2005. This study provides country-level co-publication statistics describing the geographical distribution of each member state’s research partners - domestically, within the EU27 and outside the EU27. The results show signs that cooperation within the EU as a whole has increased noticeably during recent years. Some of the new EU27 member states show a relatively strong preference for EU research partnerships, but no conclusive macro-level evidence was found of structural transformations and large scale integration processes toward a highly interconnected ‘European Research Area’.