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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You can read the full archive of this blog here.
The European Commission has launched a call for evidence on the upcoming European Research Area (ERA) Act, which will introduce legislative measures to tackle the fragmentation of research efforts across the EU and promote the free movement of knowledge and talent.
Researchers, businesses, policymakers and other stakeholders are invited to share their views on the barriers to the full achievement of the ERA and on potential solutions.
The call for evidence will close on September 10 and will be followed by a 12-week public consultation. The ERA Act proposal is due to be published in the second half of 2026.
Thirty consortia have signed grant agreements with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency for over €200 million under the 2024 Horizon Europe Missions calls.
The projects, which are driven by around 500 beneficiaries from 34 countries, including SMEs, research organisations and schools, will develop innovative actions to contribute to two key Missions: adapting to climate change and restoring oceans and waters by 2030.
Read the full statement here.
The European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency has launched a call for expression of interest as it looks to recruit three new programme managers and establish a reserve list for future opportunities.
The agency is looking for experts with scientific, technological or innovation experience in space, quantum, agrifood, sustainable electronics, renewable energy and construction.
Programme managers are set for an expanded role under proposed changes to the European Innovation Council inspired by the US Advanced Research Projects Agency model, some of which will be piloted in 2026.
For now, however, the published job description closely resembles previous calls. The reason given for the recruitment drive is that some of the 10 current programme managers are reaching the end of their contract.
More information about how to apply is available here.
The Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) has helped provide funding towards key technologies, but applicants still face regulatory and structural barriers, according to an interim evaluation report by the European Commission.
The document points to funding gaps for the start-up and scale-up phases, a fragmented landscape and misalignment between funding instruments, and a comparative disadvantage to the US system, which offers a more favourable environment for industry.
However, the Commission says it is “too early to draw firm conclusions about the extent to which STEP has achieved its core objectives.”
Read the full report here.
Portugal’s Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science (INESC TEC) says the EU needs a cohesive approach to research and technology infrastructures (RTIs).
“These infrastructures must be treated as enablers across the full research and innovation chain, from advanced training and frontier research to technology validation and deployment,” INESC TEC says in a position paper.
In response to the European Commission’s consultation on a strategic framework for RTIs, the institute is advising to establish a cohesive governance framework, secure lifecycle investment instruments, improve interoperability and integration, boost access and support, address regional asymmetries, and align RTIs with mission-oriented policy frameworks.
Read the full statement here.
The European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) has selected 40 winners of its third Women TechEU funding scheme, which received 1,038 applications from 43 eligible countries.
The winning start-ups are located in 13 countries, three of which are Widening countries.
More details here.
The UK government intends to allocate a minimum £30 million with the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund to help local leaders in key UK regions target science and technology funding towards regional strengths.
“With backing for more regions to come we can unlock the new jobs and business opportunities that are central to boosting the economic growth at the heart of our Plan for Change,” said UK secretary for science and technology Peter Kyle.
Read the full statement here.
The European Commission’s draft regulation on the new Competitiveness Fund (ECF) needs to be revised so that research stakeholders are able to understand how it will link to Horizon Europe, the League for European Research Universities (LERU) said in a statement.
“The real work begins now: we must preserve the strong elements of the European Commission’s [Horizon Europe] proposal and work to improve the weaker ones,” said Kurt Deketelaere, secretary general of LERU. “The ECF proposal must be rewritten, because right now, nobody understands it and nobody can explain it.”
LERU expressed concerns, for example, over the links between Horizon Europe and the mega-fund, the role of “moonshot” projects, the position of dual-use technology, the directionality in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, and the Commission’s attempt to weaken the role of the European Research Council president.
Read the full statement here.
The European Commission has approved up to €403 million in state aid from France, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia and Slovenia to boost innovation in medical devices, particularly those integrating advanced digital and artificial intelligence features.
The funding is expected to leverage an additional €826 million in private investments. The project will focus on technologies that support predictive, preventive, and personalised medicine, with the goal of reducing healthcare costs and strengthening the EU’s medical technology value chain while contributing to the EU’s green and digital transitions.
“[This project] will make healthcare better, faster, and cheaper [...], will strengthen the entire chain in the EU and help the green transition of the medical devices’ industry. The aid we approved today enables investments in the next generation of medical devices, while preserving competition in the Single Market,” said Teresa Ribera, executive vice-president for clean, just and competitive transition.
More details here.
The UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) have launched a new roadmap aimed at expanding national computing capacity and positioning the UK as a global leader in AI and data-driven research.
The plan includes up to £2 billion in investments to create computing ecosystem and a further £750 million to fund a new national supercomputing service based in Edinburgh.
The roadmap aims to accelerate research in areas such as health diagnostics, climate science, and energy innovation.
More details here.
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