A cornerstone to Europe’s future is a significant increase of the next Framework Programme for Research and Innovation and Erasmus+, and the continued integrity of these programmes. As more than the sum of their parts, these programmes respectively can reinforce the capacities of research, innovation and higher education to contribute not only to Europe’s competitiveness, but also to societal welfare, democratic resilience, and the EU’s close international partnerships.
In sending open letters to a range of Commissioners, The Guild acknowledges the position of research, innovation and skills in the remit of a range of new Commission portfolios. We trust that through close collaboration and collegiality, the Commissioners will ensure that these concerns are at the heart of EU policy-making. We urge the Commissioners to ensure that they maximise the capacities of bottom-up research and innovation, so clearly captured by the Draghi report, in the next Framework Programme. And we emphasize the importance of ensuring skills: alongside more skills in STEM, we also need to strengthen our students’ capacities, for instance, in modern languages, intercultural competences and critical thinking: all these must be fostered through a much more ambitious Erasmus+ programme.
The Guild’s open letters further emphasize the need to ensure universities – as key stakeholders – are fully involved in the drawing up of the next Framework Programme and Erasmus+, in the Commission’s ambitious legislative agenda that relates to R&I, and in key strategic initiatives, for instance in relation to AI. Whilst The Guild recognises and supports the drive to make the next Framework Programme for research and innovation more effective and focused, this drive must build on the Framework Programme’s existing strengths, and ensure the best possible alignment across its instruments.
In commenting on the open letters, Jan Palmowski, Secretary-General of the Guild, said: ‘As we prepare for the next MFF, it is critical to preserve the core integrity of the Framework Programme with its commitment both to Europe’s ambitions and the global sustainable development goals. Universities can serve Europe’s interests best if the EU fosters its universities in breadth and depth, strengthening their capacity to address complex problems in inter-and transdisciplinary ways – and we need the next Erasmus+ programme and the next Framework Programme to reflect that. We need to recall that the Commission’s political guidelines for the coming five years focus not only on competitiveness, but also on our society, our democracy, Europe’s place in the world, and our preparedness for the future. Universities are key to all of these priorities. FP10 and Erasmus+ can make a critical contribution to addressing our immediate challenges, and they are uniquely positioned to identifying and tackling our main challenges ten and twenty years from now.’
Read The Guild’s open letters to Executive Vice-presidents-designate and Commissioners-designate by clicking the links below:
- Roxana Mînzatu - Executive Vice-President-designate for People, Skills and Preparedness
- Ekaterina Zaharieva - Commissioner-designate for Startups, Research and Innovation
- Henna Virkkunen - Executive Vice-President-designate for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy
- Jozef Síkela - Commissioner-designate for International Partnerships
- Olivér Várhelyi - Commissioner-designate for Health and Animal Welfare
- Piotr Serafin - Commissioner-designate for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration
- Stéphane Séjourné - Executive Vice-President-designate for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy
- Wopke Hoekstra - Commissioner-designate for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth