Upcoming European Research Area (ERA) Act
TA-10-2026-0068 · P10_TA(2026)0068 · PE784.264
- Adopted in plenary on · Adopted 399–78–69 · See the decision →
- Full procedure 2025/2951
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Parliament's resolution on the upcoming European Research Area (ERA) Act supports aligning EU and national research priorities and calls for a binding regulation to achieve the ERA's objectives.¶¶¶ It demands a separate legislative proposal to protect freedom of scientific research, sets a 3% of GDP R&D investment target by 2030, and urges measures to boost researcher mobility, gender equality, and open knowledge circulation.¶¶¶
Key points
- Supports aligning Union and national R&I priorities to ensure complementarity, increase cooperation, create effective governance, and achieve the 3% of GDP R&D investment target.¶
- Calls for a two-track approach combining voluntary cooperation under the ERA Policy Agenda 2025-2027 with legislative measures, including the ERA Act, to provide a binding framework.¶
- Recommends the ERA Act be a regulation, ensuring direct applicability, stimulating private investment, free circulation of researchers and knowledge, and reducing single market fragmentation.¶
- Reaffirms freedom of scientific research and institutional autonomy; calls for a separate legislative proposal with a distinct legal basis protecting these, including minimum standards and monitoring.¶
- Calls for the ERA Act to include the Union target of at least 3% of GDP invested in R&D by 2030, with national targets and roadmaps to coordinate investment.¶
- Calls for provisions to strengthen private participation through public-private partnerships, complete the capital market union, and support regional innovation ecosystems.¶
- Calls for increased support for public research, strengthening Horizon Europe and encouraging Member States to increase funding for universities and public research organisations.¶
- Calls on Member States to remove barriers to free circulation of researchers and knowledge, enhancing cross-border collaboration and innovation.¶
- Recommends the ERA Act use planning, metrics, monitoring, and evaluation, ensuring balance between research fields and basic and applied research.¶
- Calls for strengthened governance and rationalised policy and monitoring instruments, and enhanced coordination between national and EU initiatives.¶¶
- Calls for stronger innovation ecosystems to promote cooperation among universities, start-ups, SMEs and industry, address R&I disparities, and improve participation of lower-performing Member States.¶
- Urges measures to simplify researchers' careers, improve mobility and recognition, advance gender equality, and ensure open and secure knowledge circulation with ethical use of emerging technologies.¶¶¶
Who is affected
- Researchers, especially young and early-career researchers, benefit from simplified career paths, mobility, and mutual recognition of qualifications.¶
- Universities and public research organisations may receive increased financial resources from Member States.¶
- Start-ups, SMEs and industry are targeted for cooperation and knowledge transfer in innovation ecosystems.¶
- Member States with lower R&I performance are to be supported to improve participation in Union programmes.
Figures and deadlines
- 3 % of GDP: Union target for research and development investment, to be achieved by 2030.¶
Legal basis: Article 179 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union¶