The director of Vall d’Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR) and representative of the Spanish Confederation of scientific societies, Dr. Joan X. Comella, claims for extensive changes in the Spanish civil service system of research because it has "limited flexibility and mobility". Two features which are, from his point of view, "against quality and excellence". In an interview published in "http://www.europapress.cat/societat/noticia-centres-dinvestigacio-demanen-canvis-profunds-investigacio-funcionarial-espanyola-20130907114722.html" Europa Press, Dr. Comella complains that the Spanish system is not based in merits. In his opinion, "leading researchers should receive more money than those with worse results, who should close ultimately". In this regard, he criticizes that in institutions such as the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and universities, the current model "is distorting the system itself because it ends up with a group of people who is not assessed by their work and merits". In the same line of thought, the president of the Catalan Association of Research Centers (ACER) and director of the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), Dr. Lluís Torner, considers that it is absolutely essential to change the structure of research in Spain because the rules are inflexible and the whole process is very slow: "it is like swimming in a pool of honey, it is extremely difficult to move", reported to the news agency.