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On Wednesday, MEPs approved the Parliament’s guidelines for the 2026 EU budget with 441 votes in favour. The guidelines call for “increased funding to be provided under Horizon Europe to fund at least 50 % of all excellent proposals.”
The Parliament says the EU should continue to support researchers and companies, particularly SMEs, in bringing new innovations to market and scaling up, while also preventing brain drain from Europe.
“We have delivered a strong position, showing the Commission and the Council that Parliament is a serious player, fully prepared to defend the priorities of our citizens," the European Parliament's rapporteur for the 2026 EU budget, Andrzej Halicki, said.
The Commission is expected to present its proposal for the 2026 budget in June 2025.
More here.
The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities called on European and national policymakers to collaborate with universities to meet the EU's climate goals.
“At a time when policymakers prioritise Europe’s security and its preparedness for future shocks, it is essential that policymakers recognise the holistic support Europe’s universities can provide to support these endeavours, and align them with the urgent need to address the climate and nature crises,” the organisation wrote in a report.
The Guild said that universities, policymakers and funders should strengthen basic and applied research relevant to a just and sustainable transition and reinforce evidence-based knowledge of sustainability and practical skills for students.
Read the full report here.
The university association CESAER says the European Innovation Council (EIC) should facilitate cooperation between technology developers and “problem owners”.
“Bringing in problem owners early—whether from industry, government, or civil society—helps ensure we’re solving the right problems with the right mix of expertise,” said Tim Bedford, Vice-President of CESAER.
More info here.
The European Regions Research & Innovation Network (ERRIN) says the next Framework Programme (FP10) should be more flexible and improve coordination and synergies across partnerships.
“European Partnerships are crucial for fostering research and innovation collaboration across Europe, but their governance structures often marginalise regional and local actors,” ERRIN said in a statement.
“Practices such as imposing mandatory entry fees for participants or retaining a percentage of grants to support common services create a negative perception of the instrument as a whole.”
Read the statement here.
The European Commission has annonced the projects that will receive a total of €116 million from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Pathfinder call, which provides high-risk funding on early-stage technology development.
This EIC Pathfinder call mainly funds participants from higher education institutes (38%) followed by private organisations (34%) and research organisations (23%).
More info here.
Preliminary results of a public consultation organised by the European Commission shows European start-ups want better access to finance, markets and talent, fewer regulatory burdens, as well as improved access to research facilities, innovation hubs, and accelerators.
The final results of the consultation will feed into EU’s upcoming strategy for start-ups and scale-ups, to be presented in May.
"The insights gathered from this consultation will inform our efforts to create a more supportive environment for startups and scaleups, driving innovation and competitiveness across the EU,” said Ekaterina Zaharieva, EU commissioner for start-ups, research and innovation.
More here.
The European Commission has invited stakeholders, experts and the public to provide feedback on the strategy for European life sciences.
The strategy aims to speed up innovations in the life sciences by removing key barriers and providing new opportunities to speed up knowledge deployment.
Stakeholders can submit their views here until 17 April.
Researchers can apply for a new round of Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Staff Exchanges.
The European Commission will support around 85 projects with a total of €97.7 million. Applications are open until October 2025.
Read more here.
The tripartite governance of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) has held a meeting in Krakow to discuss the next steps towards an improved system for sharing research data and digital resources across Europe.
EOSC will soon publish a “federation handbook” on how research organisations can join.
In a second meeting later this year, the group will meet to discuss the future of EOSC after 2027.
More info here.
The European Commission is to organise this years’ annual conference on research and innovation, the R&I days, on 16 and 17 September 2025.
The Commission plans to discuss the EU’s next long-term budget and the next Framework Programme.
More information is available here.
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