Horizon Europe is well underway, but the world of European R&D policy goes well beyond the confines of the €95.5 billion R&D programme. EU climate, digital, agriculture and regional policies all have significant research and innovation components. 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 EU and Japan have agreed to cooperate further on core digital technologies like artificial intelligence, semiconductors and high-performance computing.
“This strategic partnership holds real economic weight for both the EU and Japan,” Henna Virkkunen, executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, said in a statement.
The two partners will also reinforce their collaboration on data governance, submarine cables, Arctic connectivity, digital identities and cybersecurity.
Alongside Japanese minister of state for science and technology policy Minoru Kiuchi, Virkkunen is set to sign a letter of intent on quantum technology on May 13.
Read the full statement here.
Industry group Waterborne Technology Platform welcomed the European Parliament’s resolution for an increased budget for research and innovation under a standalone Framework Programme and the renewal of the current Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).
“This renewed CEF should give priority to cross-border connections and national links with European added value, considering that such infrastructure is an absolute precondition for a successful deepening of the single market and for increasing the Union’s resilience in a changing geopolitical order,” the statement reads.
Read the full statement here.
The European Commission has awarded 39 more cities the EU Mission Label as part of their efforts to fight climate change, which will grant them access to financial resources and advisory services.
These cities, which include Helsinki, Copenhagen, Athens and Paris, will be able to benefit from the international finance opportunities of the Climate City Capital Hub, while the European Investment Bank will lend as much as €2 billion to support local projects.
“The label is a recognition of a city’s commitment and a practical step toward unlocking public and private investment. It is a gateway to additional EU, national, and regional funding opportunities,” the Commission said in a statement.
Read the full statement here.
The EU's next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) should support European integration and should be a cornerstone of strong European Research and Innovation (R&I) sector, Science Europe said in a statement.
The statement also notes that the MFF should promote the strategic alignment of national and EU funds, to help achieve the target of 3% national GDP invested in R&D. Last but not least, the MFF should “host a ring-fenced” FP10.
“The MFF can support these points by supporting a standalone FP10, building on the successes of Horizon Europe Programme and ensuring the independence of the European Research Council and the European Innovation Council,” the statement reads.
Read the full statement here.
The European Commission should ensure that the EU’s next long-term budget and financing for research programmes are up to the task of attracting top international scientists to Europe, the Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities says.
In addition to a Multiannual Financial Framework that is supportive of its bottom-up instruments and international research collaboration through Horizon Europe, the EU must substantially increase the core financing of universities and research institutes, the Guild says in a statement.
Read the full statement here.
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) has opened its 2025 call for postdoctoral fellowships for researchers seeking to acquire new skills, develop their careers and work in another country.
With a budget of €404.3 million, the grants are expected to fund nearly 1,650 projects.
The call will close on 10 September 2025.
Read the full statement here.
BusinessEurope called the European Commission to ensure that research and innovation under the EU’s next long-term budget is simplified, and has an increased and ringfenced budget with a strong focus on collaborative research.
“The EU has no other choice than to become radically more attractive as a place to invest in research and innovation,” the organisation says, urging the EU to work towards attracting more private investments.
This also implies to strengthen public-private partnerships, “a key instrument for collaboration and industry’s participation with clear EU added value.”
Read the full statement here.
The European Commission must make research, innovation and education “a top EU budgetary priority” in its next long-term budget, the League of European Research Universities said.
“Investing in research, innovation, and education is not optional, but foundational to Europe’s future,” Kurt Deketelaere, the secretary general of LERU, said in a statement. “The EU has the legal tools, the political mandate, and the policy evidence to do this. What is needed now is the political will.”
LERU also warns that folding FP10 into a new European Competitiveness Fund could threaten the “independence, balance, and excellence” of EU research and innovation funding.
Read the full statement here.
The European University Association is calling for education, research and innovation to be set as “high priorities” in the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), due to start in 2028.
The next MFF, which will run from 2028 to 2034, must ensure both flexibility and predictability while Erasmus+ and FP10 need to exist as standalone programmes “with their own identity and community,” the statement reads.
Read the full statement here.
The League of European Research Universities, the Association of American Universities, the Group of Eight in Australia, the U15 in Canada and in Germany, the RU11 in Japan, the Russell Group in the UK, have signed the Ottawa Declaration, which aims to boost international research collaboration amid growing geopolitical tensions.
The organisations are committed to continue “intensified engagement based on the defining characteristics of leading research universities, namely for the public good, academic freedom and institutional autonomy, integrity, security and the responsible conduct of research, and transparency,” the organisations said in a statement.
Read the full statement here.
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