Goda Naujokaitytė

Gabriel will act as understudy to anti-corruption campaigner Nikolay Denkov, a member of the Academy of Sciences, in a government that looks on paper a boon for the country’s R&D. But judicial reform will be the priority

The portfolio of Mariya Gabriel is split in two, with Margrethe Vestager caretaker of R&I until a replacement is appointed. Some question Vestager’s interest in research, while others think her experience in competition policy will be a positive for innovation  

The EU’s Bulgarian commissioner officially leaves Brussels, with a mandate for a difficult task: trying to form a coalition government back home in Sofia after close elections

As negotiations on the EU plan to promote industrial data sharing continue, universities point to missed potential, while industry calls for a timeout. ‘We seem to be hurtling through the legislative process like a runaway train,’ says one lobby group  

Research commissioner given unpaid leave from Brussels after she was nominated to be Bulgaria’s next prime minister. Research lobbyists say the timing is ‘particularly unfortunate’ as work begins to shape the next decade of R&I policy

The ERC has clarified plans for a more inclusive process for assessing grant applications from 2024, with evaluators giving more weight to project proposals than the bare metrics of a scientist’s career. Researchers tell Science|Business they support the change

EIT Climate is the first KIC to go public on a plan for maintaining operations once grants from its parent institute the EIT run out, as it gears its services towards the implementation of climate-neutral innovations

Government has approved a €23.8M per year scheme to make all publicly-funded research free to access as soon as it is published

With violations on the rise, the European Parliament is pressing for EU-level regulation to protect academic freedom. Some research policy experts are not convinced, others think it is needed to stem the rising tide of violations

The Swiss want to re-join EU’s €26 billion education mobility programme. The wider political relationship is still on the rocks but MEPs are looking to plot a way forward