The situation of Science in Spain is dramatic. In the last three years, public research centers have suffered an accumulated reduction of more than 30% of the resources coming from the State Budget and could be up to 40% this year. Investment in R&D in Spain was 1.39% of GDP in 2010 and it is estimated that in 2011 it was less than 1.35%. The mean EU-27 value is 2.3% (table) and the European Council goal is 3%.

In the next few weeks, the Spanish Government and Parliament could approve a State Budget that would cause considerable long-term damage to the already weakened Spanish research system, contributing to its collapse. The official line of this new Government is clear (A. Moro-Martín, Nature 2012, 482, 7785): “Science is not a priority in Spain. Of course, we are immersed in an economic crisis and austerity measures are needed. However, the government’s irrational and draconian actions will cause long-term damage to the scientific infrastructure and send contradictory messages to other countries and investors. Although its rhetoric promises a shift to a knowledge-based economy, every step it takes is in the opposite direction. The results will be a borrowed-knowledge economy with little domestic know-how.”
(Fonte: J. C. Suarez 14-03-2012)