The upcoming European Research Area (ERA) Act

5.3.2026 B100156/1

Amendment 1

András Gyürk, Auke Zijlstra, Viktória Ferenc, Raffaele Stancanelli, Julie Rechagneux, Ondřej Knotek, Ernő SchallerBaross, Annamária Vicsek, Pál Szekeres, Pascale Piera, György Hölvényi, Enikő Győri, András László, Aleksandar Nikolic, Kinga Gál, Tomáš Kubín, Paolo Borchia, Csaba Dömötör, Tamás Deutsch, Jana Nagyová, Mélanie Disdier, Isabella Tovaglieri

on behalf of the PfE Group

Motion for a resolution B100156/2026

Committee on Industry, Research and Energy

The upcoming European Research Area (ERA) Act

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 4

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

4. Reaffirms the importance of freedom of scientific research and institutional autonomy; calls for the ERA Act proposal to be accompanied by a separate legislative proposal with a distinct legal basis protecting the fundamental freedom of scientific research, including minimum standards for researchers’ rights, ethical conduct, integrity and institutional independence, and supported by effective monitoring mechanisms;

4. Reaffirms the importance of freedom of scientific research and institutional autonomy; considers justified, therefore, the decision of six Hungarian universities (Semmelweis University, Óbuda University, the University of Debrecen, the University of Veterinary Medicine in Budapest, the University of Miskolc and the University of Dunaújváros) to bring an action before the Court of Justice of the European Union for the annulment of the Commission’s measures on the grounds that they unduly interfere with Hungarian universities and disadvantage Hungarian students and researchers through discriminatory restrictions on access to Horizon Europe and exclusion from Erasmus+ programmes; calls for the ERA Act proposal to be accompanied by a separate legislative proposal with a distinct legal basis protecting the fundamental freedom of scientific research, including minimum standards for researchers’ rights, ethical conduct, integrity and institutional independence, and supported by effective monitoring mechanisms;

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5.3.2026 B100156/2

Amendment 2

Auke Zijlstra, Raffaele Stancanelli, András Gyürk, Julie Rechagneux, Ondřej Knotek, Pascale Piera, Isabella Tovaglieri, András László, Aleksandar Nikolic, Tomáš Kubín, Paolo Borchia, Jana Nagyová, Mélanie Disdier

on behalf of the PfE Group

Motion for a resolution B100156/2026

Committee on Industry, Research and Energy

The upcoming European Research Area (ERA) Act

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 4 a (new)

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

4a. Recalls that, pursuant to Article 32.2 of the Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement, termination of a beneficiary’s participation must be individually justified and assessed on its merits; underlines that exclusion or termination solely on the basis of nationality constitutes prohibited discrimination; stresses that Horizon Europe primarily funds civil research and that potential dual-use applications arising beyond the scope or duration of a project cannot justify collective or preventive exclusion; calls on the Commission to ensure that any restriction on participation is proportionate, legally grounded and based on an individual assessment;

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5.3.2026 B100156/3

Amendment 3

Julie Rechagneux, Auke Zijlstra, Viktória Ferenc, Raffaele Stancanelli, András Gyürk, Ondřej Knotek, Pascale Piera, Isabella Tovaglieri, Enikő Győri, András László, Aleksandar Nikolic, Tomáš Kubín, Paolo Borchia, Jana Nagyová, Mélanie Disdier

on behalf of the PfE Group

Motion for a resolution B100156/2026

Committee on Industry, Research and Energy

The upcoming European Research Area (ERA) Act

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 8

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

8. Recommends that the ERA Act use planning, measurable metrics and monitoring, reporting and evaluation tools, and that it strive to ensure a balance between research fields and basic and applied research;

8. Recommends that the ERA Act use planning, measurable metrics and monitoring, reporting and evaluation tools, and that it strive to reduce the innovation gap and restore Europe’s scientific and technological leadership by prioritising fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, edge computing, aerospace and launch capabilities, energy net-zero technologies and isotopes, carbon capture, desalination, advanced manufacturing and applied research on enabling technologies, as well as health and biotechnologies, thereby strengthening the EU’s competitiveness and long-term growth;

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5.3.2026 B100156/4

Amendment 4

András Gyürk, Auke Zijlstra, Viktória Ferenc, Raffaele Stancanelli, Julie Rechagneux, Ondřej Knotek, Ernő SchallerBaross, Annamária Vicsek, Pál Szekeres, Pascale Piera, György Hölvényi, Isabella Tovaglieri, Enikő Győri, András László, Aleksandar Nikolic, Kinga Gál, Tomáš Kubín, Paolo Borchia, Csaba Dömötör, Tamás Deutsch, Jana Nagyová, Mélanie Disdier

on behalf of the PfE Group

Motion for a resolution B100156/2026

Committee on Industry, Research and Energy

The upcoming European Research Area (ERA) Act

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 11

Motion for a resolution

Amendment

11. Calls for stronger and more inclusive European innovation and technology ecosystems to promote cooperation between universities, research institutions, start-ups, SMEs and industry to ensure effective and secure knowledge transfer and better uptake of results by European companies, and to promote up- and re-skilling, and lifelong learning; stresses the need to address the R&I disparities among Member States, particularly those with lower R&I performance, to improve their participation in Union programmes;

11. Calls for stronger and more inclusive European innovation and technology ecosystems to promote cooperation between universities, research institutions, start-ups, SMEs and industry to ensure effective and secure knowledge transfer and better uptake of results by European companies, and to promote up- and re-skilling, and lifelong learning; stresses the need to address the R&I disparities among Member States, particularly those with lower R&I performance, to improve their participation in Union programmes; deplores the fact, therefore, that because of the entry into effect of Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/25061a, entities financed by Hungarian public interest trust foundations, notably 21 Hungarian universities and one Austrian university, are prevented from receiving direct EU funding; underlines that all researchers must have equal opportunities to participate in the ERA, regardless of their nationality and place of employment; warns that this decision and its excessively strict interpretation are undermining the concept of the ERA; urges the Commission, for this reason, to present, without delay, a legal proposal to withdraw Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506;

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1a Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506 of 15 December 2022 on measures for the protection of the Union budget against breaches of the principles of the rule of law in Hungary (OJ L 325, 20.12.2022, p. 94, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2022/2506/oj).

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