“We are truly excited about Croatia's accession to EPOS ERIC as it will give us an opportunity to be a part of the solid Earth science community of Europe, use high quality solid Earth science data as well as help us establish a national collaboration network that will bring all those disciplines further together. We are looking forward to share our data and knowledge with the EPOS community.”
“We are glad that Bulgaria has finally taken its place as a full member on the EPOS ERIC map. Taking into account the location of our country, the traditions we have in solid earth science research, Bulgarian scientist's experience and knowledge, and our national research infrastructures, we believe that Bulgaria will continue to be a valuable, productive, and trusted partner of the EPOS ERIC as we were the last several years.”
These are declarations of Croatia and Bulgaria delegations after the last EPOS ERIC General Assembly, which officially welcomed them as new member countries. Bulgaria and Croatia were already participating in the integration plan with several datasets, and now they are officially part of the EPOS European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC). The involvement of more and more European Member States in the consortium and their commitment in taking active part in its activities is crucial to sustain EPOS’ strategic objectives and it is the result of the community building efforts carried out in these years.
During 2023, a total of four countries (Switzerland, Spain, and now Croatia and Bulgaria) decided to join EPOS as member States and we consider it a great result for the whole European solid Earth science community. Broadening the geographical reach of EPOS membership is very important from a scientific point of view, as it enhances the participation of a wider range of scientific organizations. Furthermore, the inclusion of more countries represents a crucial step towards the long-term sustainability of the infrastructure itself, strengthening the institutional and financial basis of EPOS ERIC.
With Bulgaria and Croatia, EPOS ERIC has reached the remarkable number of nineteen member countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, and one country, Germany, participating as an Observer.
For more details about EPOS visit: https://www.epos-eu.org/epos-eric
