This live blog is tracking the latest developments in European research and innovation programmes, including the broader debate on the future of R&D policy and funding in the next multiannual budget due to start in 2028. Beyond that, we look at other EU policies with significant research and innovation components in climate, digital, agriculture and regional development. In addition, national governments often come up with new R&D policies, decide to fund new research avenues, and set up international cooperation deals. This blog aims to keep you informed on all of that and more.
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The Estonian Research Council has opened a new call to fund projects that have been awarded the Seal of Excellence under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) postdoctoral fellowships calls.
The proposals have been evaluated by the European Commission with a score of at least 85% but failed to be funded due to budget constraints, the statement reads.
This new call is carried out under the Mobilitas 3.0 programme, with a budget per incoming postdoctoral project of €76,000 per year.
Read the full statement here.
Research universities demand more clarity on the future of the Framework Programme for research and innovation, after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that FP10 will be “self-standing” but “tightly connected” to the proposed European Competitiveness Fund, without providing much detail on what that would entail.
After months of uncertainty, some research lobbies see von der Leyen’s speech at the annual budget conference encouraging, but many questions remain unanswered as the EU’s next long-term budget has not been decided yet.
“Europe’s R&I community is grateful and partly reassured – for now,” Kurt Deketelaere, secretary general of the League of European Research Universities (LERU), said in a statement. “However, we will apparently only know more when the European Commission publishes its proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework.”
“FP10 must be built on excellence, with a predictable, ring-fenced budget,” said Jan Palmowski, secretary general of The Guild.
Read the full statement here.
The European Commission has renewed the group of scientific advisers with professors and researchers in fields ranging from cell biology to social and behavioural sciences to environmental health.
“The Advisors aim to deliver high-quality, timely and independent scientific advice to the college of European Commissioners on any specific policy issue, including on those that the European Parliament and the Council consider to be of major importance,” the statement reads.
Read the full statement here.
European commissioner for start-ups, research and innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva has presented a snapshot of over 60 funding and support schemes designed to help researchers pursue their career in Europe.
“We are bringing everything together in one place so that international researchers can become active players on team Europe,” Zaharieva said in a statement.
Read the full statement here.
The European University Association (EUA) is welcoming the political agreement that the Competitiveness Council has reached for the new European research Area (ERA) policy agenda for 2025-27.
“As a long-standing advocate for a strong and inclusive ERA, EUA particularly values the continued commitment to a collaborative and co-creative approach,” the EUA said in a statement, as it underlined the importance of engaging stakeholders as “active contributors,” and not just “observers.”
The organisation also emphasised the need for “sustainable and predictable funding at both national and European levels” to ensure that research stakeholders, including universities, can plan on the long term.
The EUA finally called on “timely clarification” for the next steps of the process.
Read the full statement here.
The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) has awarded €63 million to projects looking at the role of higher education in closing the EU’s innovation and talent gap.
The funding, which is awarded under the EIT Higher Education Initiative, will go to 620 organisations working on 47 cross-sector projects, 12 of which focus on deep tech.
“The results of this call for proposals are a show of confidence in Europe’s innovation capacity. These are the investments that keep Europe strong and competitive,” Roxana Mînzatu, executive vice-president for social rights and skills, quality jobs and preparedness, said in a statement.
Read the full statement here.
The European Commission has allocated an additional €10 million for MSCA4Ukraine, an initiative funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) to support displaced researchers from Ukraine.
So far, the scheme has supported 173 of them with a budget of €35 million. With this new funding, an organisation or a consortium will be able to select and offer doctoral and postdoctoral researchers from Ukraine to pursue their work in the EU and countries associated to Horizon Europe.
The call to Ukrainian researchers is expected to open in the first half of 2026.
Read the full statement here.
Poland has launched its first national Cancer Mission hub under the EU Cancer Mission, which is set to boost collaborative initiatives on cancer.
Joanna Drake, deputy director-general of the European Commission for research and innovation, said: “The burden of cancer is spread unequally in Europe. In Poland, for example, cancer mortality rates are higher than the EU average.”
Since 2014, the EU has allocated more than €3.5 billion to cancer research projects.
Read the full statement here.
The EU and Egypt have agreed to extend their partnership for research and innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA) for the 2025-27 period.
The deal ensures that Egypt will continue to participate in collaborative projects as part of PRIMA, which addresses challenges such as water scarcity and food security.
Egypt is expected to soon associate to Horizon Europe.
Read the full statement here.
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