Open letter to the presidents of the European institutions
LERU logo.
News
|
Institutional
(10/03/2025)
The League of European Research Universities (LERU), The Guild and 11 other European university associations have asked, in an open letter, the presidents of the EU institutions to maintain the future FP10 framework programme as a cutting-edge one, preserving its character as an independent and ambitious tool for research funding. The University of Barcelona has joined this request through its Rector, Joan Guàrdia.
LERU logo.
News
|
Institutional
10/03/2025
The League of European Research Universities (LERU), The Guild and 11 other European university associations have asked, in an open letter, the presidents of the EU institutions to maintain the future FP10 framework programme as a cutting-edge one, preserving its character as an independent and ambitious tool for research funding. The University of Barcelona has joined this request through its Rector, Joan Guàrdia.
The signatories of the letter call on the European political institutions (the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Council and the Council of the EU) to take the corresponding decisions for the design of the next Framework Programme. In particular, both the LERU and the other signatories are concerned that the heads of the European political institutions are not committed to preserving and strengthening all the aspects that have made the EU Research Framework Programmes the distinctive policy tools and support of international research and collaboration for more than 40 years.
The University of Barcelona has joined this request through its Rector, Joan Guàrdia.
In this letter, the signatory institutions argue that “Europe’s competitiveness and preparedness rely on the capacity to strengthen research and innovation in areas such as complex technologies, health and life sciences, advanced materials, etc. This can only be achieved through an ambitious R&D policy, and the principle of excellence must remain at the core of the next Framework Programme (FP10)”. If the European Union wants to strengthen Europe'’ competitiveness and address its key ambitions (including meeting the goals of the green deal and tackling societal challenges), it must make sure that FP10 builds on the research excellence of European universities and unequivocally supports them.
The letter is available online.