Career development and mobility of highly skilled people have been at the centre of several fora and actions in Europe. Research and policy representatives have investigated which are the motivating and inhibiting factors for international mobility, which are the conditions and problems that researchers face in their work and career development, and how to foster creativity, knowledge creation and innovation. This paper is based on a survey carried out within the E*CARE project of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme in eight European countries. It highlights some findings linked to the environment for the careers and mobility of researchers in Europe, and the awareness of EU initiatives for building the European Research Area. Special emphasis is given to the attractiveness of researchers' careers, the remaining problems of researchers' mobility and its impact on further career development.

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