Today, the European Commission launched the public stakeholder consultation on the ERA Act. Contributions can be submitted via the Have Your Say portal. The consultation will remain open for 12 weeks.
Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, said:
“For Europe to remain a global leader in science and innovation, we must make it easier for knowledge, technology, and talent to move freely across borders. The ERA Act is all about breaking down barriers, boosting investment, and creating opportunities everywhere in Europe. We invite all voices, from universities and businesses to SMEs and research infrastructures to shape this initiative and Choose Europe.”
The proposed ERA Act
The initiative aims to tackle long-standing challenges in the EU’s research and innovation system, including fragmented regulatory frameworks, uneven R&D investment, and barriers to researchers’ mobility and knowledge sharing. Key aspects include:
- Investment target – national commitments to reach a 3% R&D investment target relative to GDP, supported by new legal mechanisms.
- Policy alignment – stronger coordination of investments and policies between the EU and Member States, particularly in strategic priority areas.
- Framework conditions – better conditions for researchers by improving research careers, geographical and intersectoral mobility, and open science measures.
- Safeguarding values – to uphold fundamental values, including scientific freedom, ethics, integrity, gender equality, and equal opportunities across the ERA.
Designing the ERA Act together
This is the second step in the consultation process, following the call for evidence (6 August – 10 September), which received 178 contributions from 29 countries. The consultation questionnaire is currently available in English, with the rest of the EU languages to follow in early November.
Background
The European Research Area (ERA) aims to create a unified research and innovation market by aligning national and EU policies, improving research infrastructures and promoting open science and international collaboration.
The ERA was officially launched in 2000, following a proposal by the European Commission in a communication titled ‘Towards a European Research Area’, and was enshrined by the Lisbon Treaty in Article 179 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
The current ERA policy framework is the result of a revitalisation process started in 2020, which has led to a new ERA governance, the Pact for R&I and the first ERA Policy Agenda 2022-24.
ERA and Choose Europe
The ‘Choose Europe for Science’ initiative reflects the wide variety of activities and efforts that are currently in place at the European and national levels to build an attractive research landscape, and it presents new schemes created to attract and retain researchers based outside of the EU as part of the EUR 500 million package for 2025–2027 announced by the Commission on 5 May 2025.
More information
Call for evidence
ERA Policy Platform
Press contact:
EC Spokesperson for Research, Science and Innovation
