The Commission of Experts for Research and Innovation (EFI) established by the German Government presented its Second Report on Research, Innovation, and Technological Productivity to Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and Federal Research Minister Prof. Annette Schavan in Berlin in early March 2009. The report expressly emphasises the major role that education and research play in mastering the challenges posed by the economic and financial crisis: "With its economic recovery packages, the Federal Government has introduced important measures to support and stimulate the economy." Minister Schavan stated that the report shows how Germany's research policy and its High-Tech Strategy had created the vital requirements for new economic growth. Politicians are setting the right course, concluded the commission members. "Education, research and innovation must continue to have priority, and especially so in times of recession," they write. In their report, the Commission of Experts particularly welcome the investments that have been made in mobility research, in educational infrastructures and in innovative small and medium-sized enterprises. However, the additional financial resources that have been made available must not be set off against measures that have already been approved or initiated within the scope of the University Pact or the Excellence Initiative. Conversely, Minister Schavan drew attention to the fact that the Federal Government had increased its spending on research and development (R&D) enormously over recent years. Since 2005, the Federal Government has raised its annual investments in R&D by around three billion euros, namely from nine to meanwhile twelve million euros in 2009.

Further information: http://www.e-fi.de