ERC and EIC release joint statement on current and future collaboration

On 26 March 2025, the European Innovation Council (EIC) and the European Research Council (ERC) have released a joint statement on the current and future collaboration, their respective roles and their expectations of future developments regarding their budget, mandate, and governance.

In their joint statement, the two institutions emphasise amongst others:

• The EIC and the ERC have well-aligned systems and have built bridges between their respective funding schemes.
• The ERC and the EIC, each with their own unique objectives, therefore offer complementary support to the European research and innovation ecosystem.
• It is also vital that the budgets for the EIC and the ERC be increased to ensure substantial, attractive funding and more reasonable success rates for applicants. These budgets must be ringfenced in future EU R&I Framework Programme (FP10), even if included in an envisaged Competitiveness Fund. It is also vital for both the ERC and the EIC to have a clear mandate, independence and agility in governance and operations to maintain the highest standards of tailored support to Europe’s deep-tech start-ups and excellent researchers.

Joint statement by the European Research Council and the European Innovation Council