28 March 2025

At an informal Council meeting on 11 March, EU research ministers unanimously adopted the Warsaw Declaration, in which they emphasise the role of research as the key to a competitive, secure and resilient Europe. Referring to the tradition up to now as well as the EU treaties, they call on the EU Commission to provide for an independent research and innovation programme (FP10) in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), which is not part of a more comprehensive European Competitiveness Fund.

On 11 March, the Members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg also adopted recommendations for the successor programme to ‘Horizon Europe’, in which they advocated for an independent programme. Christian Ehler (ITRE) in particular, who is the rapporteur for the dossier, has been campaigning intensively for months, and has criticised the lack of the Commission’s consultation of the Parliament and the Council.

Within the Commission, only Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva has spoken openly about the FP10.

European stakeholder organisations such as the European University Association (EUA), The Guild and LERU have welcomed the initiatives of the Member States and the European Parliament.

The EEA emphasises (Link) that the EU’s R&I Framework Programme is not just a funding instrument, but the backbone of the European research and innovation landscape. The research mobility, capacity building and collaboration within Europe and at international level supported by the FP are an invaluable asset for Europe’s competitiveness.

In its Open Letter to the Presidents of the EU Institutions (Link), The Guild calls for the integrity of FP10 to be preserved at all costs so that the excellent, ground-breaking ideas from research and innovation can be leveraged.

In the LERU statement (Link)LERU Secretary General Kurt Deketelaere states that the Commission’s plans focus exclusively on short-term applied research and innovation, start-ups and scale-ups, while basic research is ignored. He sees this as a contradiction to the political guidelines issued by Commission President von der Leyen in July 2024, which foresee R&I at the centre of the new Commission’s policy. The expert reports presented by Letta, Draghi and Heitor in 2024 also favoured a balanced approach that encompasses basic research, applied research and innovation, while pushing for a massive reduction in bureaucracy.

DAAD welcomes the call from the ministries, the European Parliament and European stakeholder organisations for an independent and financially secured FP10. The future framework programme should create stable and reliable conditions for excellent research, innovation and international cooperation within Europe and together with partner countries, which should go beyond the logic of short-term labor market demands.

It is extraordinaly important that the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) continue to form a firm pillar within FP10 and are further strengthened, as called for in the Heitor report. These programmes not only offer researchers, including at the start of their research career, excellent training and career development opportunities, but also strengthen international cooperation, knowledge exchange as well as talent attraction and retention, which is important for Europe’s innovative strength and competitiveness.

Moreover, in times of global conflict, support for researchers at risk is increasingly important. MSCA should therefore continue to provide opportunities for talented researchers at risk to pursue their work in a safe environment. This contributes to maintaining scientific excellence while strengthening international cooperation and facilitating the joint development of solutions to global challenges.