Representatives of the 10 countries scheduled to join the EU on 1 May told the meeting that the new members would find it difficult to adapt to the scientific environment and standards of the EU. But the EU is itself lagging behind other countries, notably the US.

For example, Botjan Ek, president of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, said: "Slovenian science is achieving the EU average based on some criteria, but the EU average is not very good." Giving an example, he expressed his concerns that, apart from the UK, there is no European presence in the world's top 20 universities, reports Cordis News.

Other issues raised at the conference are familiar concerns about the EU science base. The fact that there is too much stress on applied science in the EU was a concern of Jiri Niederle of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.

"I am looking forward to the establishment of a European Research Council, which I think will make the balance [between basic and applied research] more appropriate," he said.

There was also widespread concern that scientists from the acceding countries would be enticed away from their native lands, something that would be made all the more easy if plans for a new EU-wide scientific visa - designed to facilitate the movement of scientists between EU countries - are adopted. And many delegates believed that EU research funding procedures are too bureaucratic.