The Initiative for Science in Europe (ISE) – including EPSO – , LERU, The Guild, EASSH and UNICA urge for Framework Programme 10 (FP10) and the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) to be developed as two clearly distinct EU instruments both legally and financially since they will aim for and fund different activities, mobilize different funding instruments with different rules, and have (at least partly) different beneficiaries.
The League of European Research Universities (LERU) and The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities, supported by ISE, EASSH and UNICA as R&I networks, published a set of recommendations to tightly connect the ECF to FP10. The paper aims to implement the declarations made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
FP10 should have a clear focus on funding R&I, and R&I only, while the ECF should facilitate deployment and commercialization of these R&I activities. As part of the simplification efforts, we also identify instruments that should be discontinued (at least under FP10) because of their lack of effectiveness.
Linking FP10 and the ECF should not lead to a pure instrumentalization of R&I for competitiveness and industrial policy objectives. It is necessary, also for Europe’s competitiveness, that bottom-up instruments like the ERC, MSCA and parts of EIC maintain their purely curiosity-driven nature avoiding any prescribed directionality. The paper urges to maintain and reinforce funding for pre-competitive, collaborative R&I in FP10 (collaborative basic research), geared towards industrial competitiveness and societal progress.
Read the Full joint paper with recommendations of the European R&I networks: here
Related to the issue is the ISE open letter of scientists and entrepreneurs regarding the next 7 year overall EU budget (MFF) and FP10 and the ISE main recommendations towards FP10: Read the ISE open letter and sign at https://bit.ly/4kzL4pi and disseminate to your networks! Read the ISE main recommendations FP 10: https://initiative-se.eu/2025/02/27/ises-main-recommendations-for-fp10/.
Contacts:
Moniek Tromp – ISE President
Karin Metzlaff – EPSO Executive Director & ISE Vice-President & chair Working Group FP10