Forschung für Nachhaltigkeit Motor für Innovationen in Europa

Lisbon to Leipzig Declaration

Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the patron of the L2L conference.

Message of Greeting of Angela Merkel



Leipzig, 08/05/07. Today, the conference „Sustainable Neighbourhood - from Lisbon to Leipzig with Research (L2L)” opened at the Congress Centre in Leipzig. The aim of the conference is to position research for sustainability as the engine for innovation in Europe. More than 700 experts from science and politics will develop a common vision in the course of the conference.


Frieder Meyer-Krahmer, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Berlin, Germany
"The basic idea of this conference is to connect the challenge of sustainable development with the challenge of competitiveness."

"It is important for us that the EU does not only dispose of the Lisbon Strategy but also of a Sustainability Strategy."

"Our Framework Programme „Research for Sustainability— Fona”, which has been running for four years, is being continued and extended with new focal points such as climate, energy, and resource efficiency. During this legislative period, about 1,2 billion euros will be invested in this field of research."

Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for Science and Research, Brussels, Belgium

"Everything we face is now interconnected. Sustainability is all about connections. Research is internationalized and so must also be the answers."

"Working in an interconnected way helps us to forward sustainable development in Europe. The challenges are too big to be faced by individual countries."

"Like in football, Europe must try to form a star-team rather than a team of stars."

"The problems we face are not science fiction, and we cannot tackle them by science factions." 

Georg Milbradt, Minister President of Saxony, Germany

"When reducing emissions, one of the important factors is the question of where they can be reduced most cost-efficiently. Therefore, to me the conference motto Sustainable Neighborhood seems of major importance. In my opinion, it is all about excellent networking between science and industry, consistent research promotion and a successful export of these technologies."

"Europe has the knowledge and the competences to mitigate climate change. The achievements we have obtained in Saxony are encouraging. However, to reach this goal we have to provide the necessary investments in research and development."

For the detailed conference programme please click here.

For pictures from the conference please click here.