25 Aug 2025
LERU reacts to MFF, FP10 and ECF proposals
The League of European Research Universities (LERU) has presented a first analysis of the European Commission proposals for a next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and the next EU Research Framework Programme (FP10), as well as the draft regulation on the European Competitiveness Fund, which, the association states, "will need a complete rewrite". The first response was published on 25 July 2025.
LERU applauds the fact that there is again a proposal for a self-standing FP with an almost doubled budget, which it regards as a good compromise between evolution and revolution. The association also explicitly welcomes the proposed four-pillar structure, adding, however, that the proposal lacks details that are needed for a thorough assessment. LERU is critical of the proposed ECF regulation, which it calls "ambiguous", and is particularly worried about how the ECF will impact the proposed Competitiveness part of FP10’s pillar II.
LERU calls on the Commission, Council and Parliament to address its concerns as soon as possible, which include, for instance, the role and legal basis of moonshots, the position of dual use, the directionality in MSCA, the possible weakening of the position of the ERC President, the association to the FP and the ECF, etc. It is also worried about the governance and states that "it is crucial to keep policy makers with experience in the research policy domain and with the Framework Programme(s) on board".
Other aspects LERU regards critically are for instance the unclear budget distribution within the pillars, the relatively low budget for societal issues in pillar II, or the lack of clarity regardin the EIT. LERU is against funding the building of large research and technology infrastructures through FP10. For the question of dual use in FP10, LERU proposes a flagging system similar to the system used for SSH.
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