On the initiative of the former European Commissioner for Science and Research, Philippe Busquin, a "European Research Area" (ERA) was propounded in January 2000. The vision of a unified area for research all across Europe comprises the pooling of substantial capabilities and infrastructures, the activation of private investments as well as the strengthening of mobility and human resources.

Two months later, the "Lisbon Strategy" was passed on a Council of the European Union meeting in Lisbon with the explicit objective to make Europe the most competitive and most dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010.

In this context, the Council of the European Union endorsed the concept of a European Research Area (ERA) which became an important element of the Lisbon Strategy. As a further research policy aim associated with the Lisbon Strategy, the EU Member States met in Barcelona in March 2002 and agreed upon aiming at investing 3% of the European GDP in research and development by 2010.