HORIZON BLOG: European R&D policy newsbytes

The Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange 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 receive funding due to budget constraints, the statement reads.

Read the full statement here.

Eurostat has found that 13% of EU businesses were using artificial intelligence technologies.

According to the EU’s statistics office, businesses in Denmark and Sweden are leading the trend, with 27.6% and 25.1% of them using AI, respectively. Romania, on the other hand, is lagging behind at 3.1%.

Read the full statement here.

University association CESAER calls on the EU to ensure that universities of science and technology fully contribute to implementing the Clean Industrial Deal (CID).

“Universities of science and technology must be systematically involved in shaping and delivering this agenda,” Mariusz Malinowski, CESAER Envoy to the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU and vice-rector for Research at Warsaw University of Technology, said in a statement.

Read the full statement here.

The European Research Council (ERC) and the Association of ERC Grantees (AERG) have launched the new Ambassadors for the ERC network, which aims to promote investment in frontier research.

“I hope the ambassadors will become recognisable faces of ERC-funded research,” Maria Leptin, the president of the ERC, said in a statement. “We must keep reminding our fellow citizens why funding frontier research is not optional, and why it is essential for Europe's long-term health and prosperity.”

Read the full statement here.

The European Commission held a workshop with the ministry of higher education in Palestine on collaboration opportunities with EU researchers under Horizon Europe.

“So far, four Palestinian entities participated in Horizon Europe and received an EU contribution of close to €400,000,” the Commission said in a statement. “Those include Arab American University, Pal-think for Strategic Studies, Al Quds University and Berzeit University.”

Read the full statement here.

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.