EARTO responds to EC's Call for Evidence on ERA Act

EARTO, the European Association of Research and Technology Organisations, has published its contribution to the European Commission's Call for Evidence for the upcoming ERA Act, which closed on 10 September 2025. EARTO welcomes the EC's initiative to establish the ERA Act and with its paper aims to complement the three main blocks of policy measures suggested by the EC, raising some key issues and making recommendations.

With regard to Policy Measures Block 1 - the 3% R&D investment target, EARTO strongly supports the EC’s renewed ambition to render the target of 3% of GDP investments in R&D a reality and states that the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028-2034 must be designed to reach such a target. It regards the proposed increased budget for Horizon Europe as a step in the right direction. The association proposes that the ERA Act should introduce a roadmap with concrete national commitments from Member States and EEA EFTA countries regarding their R&D investments to reach this 3% target. Building on existing best practices, these commitments should be anchored in national and regional reform plans proposed to the EC under the new MFF. EARTO also suggests that the ERA Act defines further work aiming at developing a broadly recognised EU-level method to measure the economic impact of RD&I.

On Policy Measures Block 2 - Enhancing the alignment of investments and research policies to strengthen EU and national strategic priorities, EARTO members welcome the focus on enhancing coordination between EU strategic priorities and national funding agendas. EARTO recommends that the EU places a stronger emphasis on planning and coordinating investments in Technology Infrastructures (TIs) and emphasises its support for the establishment of the forthcoming pan-EU strategy on Technology Infrastructures (TIs).

Regarding Policy Measures Block 3 - Improved framework conditions for researchers and research organisations, EARTO stresses the following issues, on which it also provides recommendations:

• Knowledge valorisation
• Intersectoral mobility of researchers, facilitated through cooperation between academia with RPOs (including RTOs) and industry
• International Mobility of Researchers
• International collaboration between RTOs and international mobility of researchers between RTOs
• Third countries and research security.

For more information:

EARTO Response to the EC Consultation on ERA Act