Three universities in Widening countries are under investigation, including the University of Zagreb, where a dean of faculty and 28 others were arrested on suspicion of fraud involving €1.7M of EU funds

With the likely new government promising to increase R&D funding and ‘depoliticise’ science, researchers are pointing to further reforms they say are needed to increase the standing and quality of the country’s research system

The expert group set up to advise on the next EU research framework programme will hold its first meeting in early December. Group members will be named soon

Sponsoring a start-up accelerator is an increasingly popular route for large companies to tap into the latest technologies and get preferential rights to in-license potential products

European University Association offers 18 recommendations for improving €26.2B EU education fund in half-way evaluation. The biggest administrative improvement would be fixing long-running problems with IT

The ERA Forum is rushing to elaborate and revise countless technical documents in preparation for the 2025-27 cycle. A strategic approach to guaranteeing the fifth freedom - of free movement of researchers, scientific knowledge and technology - is at risk of getting lost in this avalanche of detail

New leadership introduces changes in the Commission’s research directorate, as it gears up to start work on the proposal for the next seven-year EU framework research programme

MEP draws on parliament’s success in securing an extra €85M for research in 2024, asking stakeholders to make a bigger budget for Framework programme 10 a priority in their national campaigns for the 2024 European elections

China and the US have dialled down tensions, leading to a new agreement on alternative energy, and a promise to work together on the risks of artificial intelligence

As things stand, the country’s national contact points have to juggle their day jobs with helping researchers to win funding. Creating a professional network is now on the cards, but it may take some time