At the Informal Competitiveness Council meeting on 11 March 2025, EU ministers for research and innovation unanimously endorsed the Warsaw Declaration, reaffirming the strategic role of the future EU R&I framework programme and calling for FP10 to be built on the legacy of self-standing framework programmes. On the same day, the European Parliament adopted a report also calling for FP10 to be maintained as an independent programme.
In a statement issued on 13 March 2025, the European University Association (EUA) welcomes these decisions and urges the European Commission to consider them in its upcoming proposal for FP10. The EUA regards the integration of FP10 into the proposed European Competitiveness Fund as a potential threat to the stability, predictability and core mission of the programme. The EUA stresses the Framework Programme’s critical function, stating that it “must continue to exist as an individual entity with its own identity and community, ensuring that it remains a strong, independent driver of European research and innovation”.
While EUA supports efforts to enhance synergies between EU funding instruments, it sees an integration of FP10 into a broader Competitiveness Fund as posing risks that could undermine its core mission and effectiveness in boosting EU’s competitiveness. According to the EUA, these include amongst others:
- A broader funding structure would make FP10 vulnerable to shifting political priorities and funding reallocations, but research and innovation require long-term, predictable funding. Therefore, FP10 must be maintained with its own ring-fenced budget.
- Placing FP10 within a politically driven structure risks undermining Europe’s ability to support basic research. FP10 should preserve and further reinforce its bottom-up funding components (ERC, MSCA, EIC Pathfinder Open).
- Stronger emphasis on industrial competitiveness could restrict international collaboration and potentially limit partnerships with Associated Countries and other third countries. FP10 must therefore continue operating as a stand-alone programme that prioritises open international collaboration.
- Key horizontal priorities such as the European Research Area (ERA) and widening participation could be deprioritised, as could cross-cutting priorities such as promoting Open Science, FAIR data principles and gender equality. FP10 must therefore retain a strong focus on these horizontal priorities to ensure they remain integral to its strategy.
- An exclusive focus on competitiveness risks marginalising Social Sciences, Humanities, and the Arts (SSHA), even though they are essential for addressing societal challenges and informing policy. The EUA regards it as vital that FP10 maintains a balanced funding approach that fully incorporates SSHA.
- Efforts to streamline funding rules could lead to increased bureaucracy and administrative burden. The attempt to create a single set of guiding rules for all competitiveness-related programmes risks being highly complex. Any restructuring should focus on enhancing efficiency rather than introducing additional administrative barriers.
In view of these risks, EUA urges the European Commission to maintain FP10 as a stand-alone programme, ensuring it continues to serve as a catalyst for scientific excellence, knowledge, innovation, and long-term societal progress.