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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Universities of the Netherlands is urging the European Commission to support a standalone Framework Programme 10, with a long-term approach to research and innovation investments that does not forget about fundamental research.
“We fear that in the next [multiannual EU budget], the EU’s R&I investments will be mistakenly blended into the Competitiveness Fund and will be dominated by the EU’s strategic priorities,” the letter reads.
“It is precisely by transcending political agendas that R&I can best contribute to tackling societal challenges and help Europe remain one step ahead.”
Scientific autonomy and academic freedom are also prerequisites for industrial competitiveness, the Dutch universities warn.
The European Research Council (ERC) said that it would allocate €1.8 million in the mERCury initiative to improve National Contact Points’s support (NCPs) to researchers applying to ERC grants and, ultimately, boost the quality and number of ERC proposals.
The initiative, which targets 23 NCPs from EU member states and associated countries that provide guidance to researchers willing to benefit from Horizon Europe funding, is expected to run from 2025 to 2028.
“A strong emphasis will be placed on levelling the playing field,” the ERC said in a statement.
The research funder plans on drawing at least 60% of participants in capacity-building events from widening countries or less experienced NCPs. “The project will also run stakeholder workshops, publish guidelines, and deliver at least seven open-access training events for applicants – with a target of 70% participation from widening countries.”
Read the full statement here.
The European Commission has launched a call for evidence for researchers, policymakers and industry leaders to share their input on the upcoming European strategy on research and technology infrastructures.
Read the full statement here.
The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is calling on the Polish government to use its presidency of the Council of the EU to ensure that the next Framework Programme is not merged into a broader European Competitiveness Fund.
As discussions on the EU’s next long-term budget continue, Heike Raab, the chair of the Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research and Culture, advocated in a letter addressed to the Polish minister of Science and Higher Education Marcin Kulasek for a standalone FP10.
This includes “an ambitious, predictable, independent and strategic FP10 budget, caring also for local and regional interests in this field,” the letter reads.
Raab also pointed out the need to “rethink” the Widening programme, which the European Commission is currently reviewing, and increase public-private investments in efforts to strengthen the EU’s competitiveness.
Read the full letter here.
The Else Kröner-Fresenius Foundation (EKFS) has launched a new programme, providing €10 million in 2025 to support German faculties and universities in recruiting top US medical researchers affected by funding cuts being implementedby the Trump administration.
“This programme is our response to a worrying development. In times of increasing restrictions on academic freedom, we want to open up prospects for outstanding medical researchers in a stable academic environment,” said Dieter Schenk, chairman of the board of trustees of the EKFS.
German medical faculties and universities are now invited to apply, with the first application deadline set for June 15, 2025.
More details here.
In response to the launch of the Union of Skills, the European University Association (EUA) called on the European Commission for the establishment of a flagship EU initiative for lifelong learning.
“[The EU] should empower universities to develop long-term learning capacity and support interdisciplinary collaboration, so that Europe can step up to innovate and transform its economies,” it said in a statement.
The EUA also emphasised the need to make investment in higher education and research a priority of the Union of Skills and Competitiveness Compass through a dedicated European ‘Skills Fund,’ for example.
Read the full statement here.
A consortium of Estonian research institutions has launched a microchips centre in efforts to support the country’s tech companies and start-ups.
“If we want Estonia to develop competitive products and increase the share of high-tech industry, we need to build up companies’ competence in chip technology and provide them with the services they need,” Estonian minister of Economy and Industry Erkki Keldo said in a statement.
With a budget of €2.4 million over four years, the centre will mainly focus on hardware security, chip testing and safety and functional verification and aims to develop Estonia’s electronics and defense industry. Experts will provide consultancy and technical support and, in collaboration with universities, training courses.
Read the full statement here.
The European Commission has launched the Union Skills to address current talent shortages, especially in sectors under the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform.
“The Union of skills is our strategy to help people stay ahead in a rapidly changing world and keep Europe competitive and fair,” Roxana Mînzatu, the executive vice-president for social rights and skills, quality jobs and preparedness, said in a statement.
Under this initiative, the EU also hopes to attract and retain international talents.
Read the full statement here.
France’s Aix-Marseille University has received 242 eligible applications from US-based researchers to participate in its ‘Safe Place for Science programme’ as Donald Trump continues to tighten restrictions on US science.
Most of the applicants are experienced researchers coming from various US universities and organisations, such as John Hopkins University, NASA, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, Yale University and Stanford University. Over half of the applicants are American (135 applicants) and fewer are French (17).
The disciplines most represented are social sciences and humanities (77 applications), life sciences (69), environmental sciences (40), and others like Earth sciences, mathematics, physics and computer sciences (56).
Aix-Marseille University head Éric Berton and former French president François Hollande have requested that a scientific refugee status be created to help US researchers continue their work in Europe. The idea could soon turn into law.
Up to 40 candidates will be interviewed in the second half of May. The first batch of researchers will arrive in early June.
Cyprus’ Research and Innovation Foundation has opened a new call to support 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 receive funding due to budget constraints, the statement reads.
This new call is carried out within the framework of the “RESTART 2016-2020” funding scheme, which is co-financed by Cyprus and the European Regional Development Fund.
The call budget is €1 million and the funding per project can reach up to €170.000.
Read the full statement here.
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