Marie-Christine Vergiat (GUE/NGL, France) criticised a resolution adopted by the European Parliament on 20 May for only taking into account business needs. The resolution, based on an own-initiative report by Pál Schmitt (EPP, Hungary), called for strengthened links between business and universities (See Europolitics3982). The debate, according to Vergiat, did not touch upon universities’ role in research, acquiring knowledge or the contribution to personal development. «There was only talk of short term business needs, ignoring the fact that the key to social and professional mobility requires, above all, the acquisition of core knowledge,» said Vergiat. Students need better access to jobs, but this should not be at the expense of university independence.