The Mission Letter to Commissioner for Start-ups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva as well as the EC Communication on the Competitivenss Compass include and outline the project of proposing binding legislation for ERA under the working title “ERA Act”. Several strands of measures are under discussion for being included in the ERA Act. The Commission has announced its proposal for the ERA Act to be presented by the third quarter of 2026 and to include the following:
- a new coordination mechanism to accelerate the EU’s advancement towards the 3% R&D investment target;
- reinforcing the alignment of R&I funding in the ERA along strategic priorities;
- a number of policy areas to improve the framework conditions for R&I in Europe and reduce fragmentation, such as research careers, freedom of scientific research, research infrastructures, etc.
The call for evidence is the first step of the consultation process. The next step entails a public stakeholder consultation on questions regarding the ERA Act specific intervention areas, that will follow this call for evidence and will be open for 12 weeks. The EC has not yet announced a specific date for this public stakeholder consultation.