Advocating for a standalone Framework Programme for R&I

In May 2024, The Guild published its position paper on FP10. The document formulates our vision for the future of EU R&I funding and puts forward recommendations based on input from our General Assembly, Vice-Presidents and working groups. We reassert the importance of focusing the framework programme on excellent R&I, emphasising the need to expand the European Research Council (ERC), the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), and the European Innovation Council (EIC) while safeguarding their autonomy and bottom-up nature. Other key recommendations include reducing the prescriptiveness of challenge-oriented calls, expanding successful Widening  instruments, and promoting international research collaboration.

These recommendations have underpinned our advocacy on the framework programme throughout the year. The Presidents and Board exchanged views with Manuel Heitor, head of the expert group for the mid-term evaluation of Horizon Europe and FP10. In their meeting, they referred to our position paper on FP10, which contributed to the alignment with Heitor’s expert group final report, especially regarding recommendations for an ambitious and ring-fenced budget, expanding the ERC and MSCA, continuing successful Widening instruments, and promoting a more granular approach to international collaboration. We also welcome the Heitor group’s ideas for ensuring a more expert-driven governance.

We engaged with MEP Christian Ehler’s team during the preparation of the European Parliament report on the remaining part of Horizon Europe and FP10 to push forward our key recommendations. Like our position paper, the final report strongly warns against regarding the FP10 as a mere instrument for short-term industrial policy. It supports an independent framework programme with a substantially increased budget and recognises the crucial role of the ERC and EIC, emphasising the need to safeguard their independence and self-governance.

Our vision for FP10, developed in our May position paper, has also supported our engagement in policy discussions on the next MFF. In line with the recommendations of the report by Mario Draghi, the European Commission has put a stronger emphasis on boosting Europe’s competitiveness in its new political priorities. We welcomed its recognition of the need to put R&I at the heart of our economy. On this basis, we committed to supporting Commissioner-designate Ekaterina Zaharieva, as well as other designate members of the College of Commissioners with a responsibility for R&I, in achieving this objective through a series of public letters putting forward our vision directly to them, ahead of their confirmation hearings in the European Parliament.

Read our position paper on FP10

In October 2024, The Guild joined forces with 12 networks of universities, research institutes and researchers to call for a better recognition of MSCA and its continuation with an increased budget under the framework programme. In March 2025, our R&I Policy working group met Claire Morel (Head of the MSCA unit, DG RTD). Members of the group reiterated their strong support for the MSCA. They were pleased to discuss the new Choose Europe instrument, and how to ensure the MSCA are recognised as a core component of EU R&I policy and the framework programme.

We are also part of the Research Matters campaign, which advocates for increasing investment in R&I. In addition to an open letter and an online campaign showcasing the impact of research, Research Matters organised a public event, ‘Invest in the Future’, with Enrico Letta, who promoted the concept of the fifth freedom of knowledge in his report on Europe’s Single Market, as a keynote speaker.

The Guild set up and coordinated an informal group with 12 other university networks to bring together the voices of universities on the role of R&I in EU competitiveness policy and, more broadly, in the next MFF. Through this group, we had informative exchanges with MEP Christian Ehler as well as the European Commission’s DG for Budget, DG for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, and the task force on the EU's future competitiveness.

The Guild set up and coordinated an informal group with 12 other university networks to bring together the voices of universities on the role of R&I in EU competitiveness policy and, more broadly, in the next MFF. Through this group, we had informative exchanges with MEP Christian Ehler as well as the European Commission’s DG for Budget, DG for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, and the task force on the EU’s future competitiveness.

The Guild joined the Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research (CESAER), the European University Association (EUA), the League of European Research Universities (LERU) and non-university stakeholder organisations (the European Association of Research and Technology Organisations, EARTO; the European Round Table for Industry and Science Europe) to call for an ambitious and independent framework programme, increased investment in R&I, and simplification for EU funding beneficiaries. Their joint call was published in February 2025 and invited endorsement by other networks.

Later in the same month, we joined forces with LERU to write an open letter to the presidents of the EU institutions, urging them to ensure the excellence principle throughout the framework programme, including for challenge-oriented R&I, and emphasising the importance of international collaboration. We were delighted by the letter’s echo in Europe’s higher education sector: by May 2025, the open letter had been signed by 210 university leaders, 18 university networks, and 20 rectors’ conferences.

Read our open letter to the Presidents of the EU institutions