Commission to launch public consultation on ERA Act

A call for evidence to inform the upcoming European Research Area (ERA) Act will be published within the next two weeks. This will be followed by a public consultation on the proposed legislation.

The European Commission is “in listening mode,” said Magda De Carli, head of unit responsible for the ERA at the directorate general for research and innovation, during a webinar organised by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology on June 6.

First conceived in 2000, the ERA represents the EU’s ambition to create a single market for research, innovation and technology, but so far it has relied on voluntary commitments from member states.

Following the publication of Enrico Letta’s report, which called for research and innovation to be placed at the heart of the single market, the Commission announced plans for an ERA Act to tackle the fragmentation of research efforts across the bloc. This is now due in the second half of 2026.

“We are talking about legislative tools, so legal instruments that will be used to address those issues that cannot be solved with voluntary collaboration,” said De Carli.

The Act will have three main objectives: to bring R&D investment up to 3% of GDP; to focus research support on strategic priorities and reinforce alignment between EU and member-state funding; and to foster the circulation of knowledge and talent across Europe.

During her presentation, De Carli offered a non-exhaustive list of areas the legislation could potentially cover. These were: equitable investment in R&D and innovation across the ERA; knowledge valorisation; AI in research; open science; gender equality; research infrastructures; scientific freedom; research security; researcher mobility; and employability and working conditions.

The ERA Act will also be closely linked to the EU’s Choose Europe for Science campaign, which is designed to attract and retain researchers in Europe.

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Targets for legislation

To help decide which areas could benefit from a legislative approach, the Commission will launch a call for evidence via its online portal. This phase will last for four weeks. Stakeholders will be invited to share their experiences of the problems facing the full achievement of the ERA, as well as possible solutions. “You might also have experienced solutions in your countries that might be scaled up,” De Carli said.

The Commission will later launch a 12-week public consultation, which will be more detailed and will include specific questions. It will then use this feedback, along with evidence it is collecting through studies, to undertake an impact assessment.

The impact assessment will aim to avoid overregulating and to ensure there is no overlap between the ERA Act and other initiatives such as the Commission’s start-up and scale-up strategy. “What we want to do is address the issues that are not yet covered that can help researchers,” De Carli said.

Since its inception, the ERA has struggled to capture the attention of national governments and stakeholders outside of Brussels. After losing momentum, the concept was revamped in 2021, with the adoption of concrete, but voluntary, actions under the first ERA policy agenda, and the creation of the ERA Forum. This brings together member states and associated countries, the Commission and stakeholders. Last month, research ministers endorsed the second ERA policy agenda, for 2025-27.

While it is unclear how receptive member states would be to legislation forcing them to harmonise national research frameworks, De Carli is hopeful the ERA Act will succeed where previous initiatives have struggled.

“Maybe this is the moment, because we have a lot of [favourable] conditions,” she said, citing political support, experience and clear benefits from timely action. “The fact that in the past these ambitions were not implemented does not mean it cannot happen now,” she said.

The webinar with De Carli was part of the One Hour With Europe series from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology Brussels office. It is available to rewatch here.