Under the Irish Presidency, the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) held its 97th Forum meeting on 23-24 September 2026 at the National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) in Cork.
Cooperation, Resilience and the Path to Roadmap 2026
The 97th ESFRI Forum meeting welcomed Egypt, a Horizon Europe associated country, as a new ESFRI delegation. In Cork the Forum addressed important topics such as international collaboration, the Greening and Resilience transition strategies for the near future, the infrastructure ecosystem, and the Roadmap event.
The road to Roadmap 2026
The Forum approved the Strategy Report that will be included in the next Roadmap, laying out ESFRI’s view on a holistic, sustainable and digitally enabled European infrastructure ecosystem. Final preparations for the Roadmap Launch event in Rome (Italy) in December 2nd, 2026 were further advanced, highlighting the strategic role of Research Infrastructures through the inclusion of six new Projects (FOREST, IN-SYLVA Europe, JERICO-RI, MEDem, Microscopy Europe, NFFA2050) and four new Landmarks (DANUBIOUS ERIC, E-RIHS ERIC, EST and KM3NeT 2.0).
International Cooperation
The ESFRI dedicated Drafting Group on International Collaboration presented to the Forum an update on its work towards identifying opportunities, challenges, and future actions to strengthen global partnerships while ensuring reciprocity, resilience, and long-term sustainability.
Greening and Resilience
Complementing these efforts the Drafting Group on Greening and Resilience continued advancing its work reviewing preliminary findings on both greening and resilience, highlighting key gaps in continuity planning, climate adaptation, supply-chain resilience, and mutual support mechanisms.
A connected infrastructure ecosystem
As Europe moves towards a holistic vision of infrastructures, being connected and coordinated is increasingly important. The Forum discussed how a holistic and coordinated ecosystem populated by Research and Technology Infrastructures can booster European scientific excellence, innovation and competitiveness.
https://www.esfri.eu/esfri-forum-meetings/97th-esfri-forum-meeting?qt-event=5#qt-event