Viewpoint

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

Over 40 years, the EU’s flagship research programmes have drifted from their early focus on collaborative, pre-competitive R&D benefiting industry and society. A Swedish expert on the programme calls for a rethink

The EDCTP partnership that sponsors clinical trials in Africa is a flagship of the EU’s health research effort. But as it reaches its 20 anniversary the pending pharmaceutical legislation and budget worries dog its future, warns Maria da Graça Carvalho MEP

Europe must give investors certainty by extending data protection for new drugs and facilitating access to market, says senior executive, as the industry continues to contest proposals for the largest reform of EU pharma legislation in over 20 years

Since the ‘AI made in Europe’ strategy launched in February 2020, the US has pulled further ahead. The EU’s problem is a lack of scale and focus. The answer is to adopt CERN’s approach to running large, coordinated and highly ambitious projects

Governments are strengthening security safeguards – sometimes with unintended consequences. It is time for an open dialogue where these are brought to the table

Politicians must not be allowed to harness fears around artificial intelligence to divide people, says Dragoș Tudorache MEP, who is leading Europe’s charge to regulate this powerful technology

A sustained effort to diversify funding sources has enbled steady progress. Now, almost 40 years after joining the EU, that Portugal is in sight of meeting the target of spending 3% of GDP on research by 2030

To deliver on their ambitious climate and health promises, the objective-driven research projects require a change in policymaking culture across Europe, says Wolfgang Polt, who is spearheading efforts to promote transnational cooperation in support of the Missions

As AI tools spread in the scientific world, we risk the tech giants coming to dominate the resulting ‘meta’ science. It’s time to ensure public research stays in the public sphere, argues Ramon Wyss of KTH