27 May 2026
University organisations' joint statement calls on Council to build on EP's momentum on FP10 and ECF
On 27 May 2026, seven European university and research network organisations presented a joint statement in which they invite the Council to consider the European’s Parliaments proposals on Horizon Europe 2028-2034 (FP10) and the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), to converge towards a coherent and ambitious framework. The statement was published ahead of the upcoming Competitiveness Council meeting on 29 May 2026 and calls on the Council to work towards a Partial General Approach. The signatories are CESAER, the COIMBRA Group, EUA, EU-LIFE, The Guild, LERU, and YERUN.
In their joint statement, the associations highlight the importance of the convergence of positions between the Council and the European Parliament, recalling the EP's draft reports on FP10 and the ECF. The associations stress that Europe needs an ambitious and predictable investment framework that strengthens excellent research and innovation, supports talent and skills and enables the translation of knowledge into societal and economic impact.
The joint statement highlights the importance of ensuring a strong and operational interface between FP10 and the ECF, urging for the two programmes to remain autonomous but connected, with complementary roles that support the full journey from knowledge creation to innovation uptake and impact, while avoiding duplication and unnecessary complexity for beneficiaries.
In line with the joint amendments proposed by the signatories in December 2025, and a joint statement on the design of the ECF published in February 2026, the joint statement calls for:
- A serious consideration by the Council of the European Parliament’s approach and proposals,
- Concrete actions to facilitate the swift association of close partners, including Switzerland and the United Kingdom, to FP10,
- A strong and well-balanced interface between FP10 and the ECF, as for example proposed by the European Parliament through the Horizon Europe Pathway Actions,
- A strong involvement of independent experts operating at the forefront of research and innovation in the implementation of FP10 and ECF,
- A timely convergence between the positions of the European Parliament and the Council, based on the Commission’s proposal, ensuring a timely adoption of the legislative acts, but keeping high their quality.
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