Italian research funding drops 20% in 10 yrs

(ANSA) - Rome, February 21 - Italian funding for research has fallen 1.2 billion euros or 20% over the last 10 years, according to a European Commission paper due out next month.
    "We are on the brink of collapse," Roma Tre University political economy lecturer Mario Pianta, who contributed to the report, told ANSA Wednesday.
    Nature journal said Wednesday the topic of research was "completely missing" from the electoral debate ahead of Italy's March 4 general election.