The Guild welcomes appointment of Iliana Ivanova as Research Commissioner

The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities has issued a statement welcoming the European Parliament’s vote on 12 September 2023 to appoint Iliana Ivanova as Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, stating that it is of crucial importance that this position is held by a dedicated Commissioner who will demonstrate political ownership and leadership in EU policies in research, innovation, and education.

The Guild points out that the present and coming months will be critical for these policy areas, not least because of the ongoing mid-term review of Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe and the preparatory phase of their respective successor programmes. The association calls upon Commissioner Ivanova to keep up the commitment to strengthening the ERA, and to lay the grounds for the tenth Framework Programme for research and innovation (FP10). The Guild particularly endorses Commissioner Ivanova’s priority of giving R&I a key role in the EU growth model, calling for increasing investment in instruments such as the ERC and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and creating more opportunities for collaborative fundamental research in Horizon Europe’s Pillar 2, to fulfil the commitment for ensuring a balance between research and innovation. The association also states that it is crucial that new EU policy priorities do not shift the focus of Horizon Europe away from its initial objectives, and that any emerging priorities that Horizon Europe will address will need to be met with additional resources to its existing budget. The Guild welcomes the new Commissioner's upcoming efforts in attracting Cohesion policy funding to support capacity-building in the R&I sector.

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