09 Nov 2026
The Guild urges MEPs to support FP10 Rapporteurs’ compromise amendments
Ahead of the vote of the European Parliament’s ITRE committee on 10 November, The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities has issued a statement calling on Members of the European Parliament to express their support to the compromise amendments on FP10 negotiated by Rapporteurs Christian Ehler and René Repasi, with the Shadow Rapporteurs in their agreement.
The agreement details what the next Framework Programme for R&I needs: a stronger focus on research excellence, openness to international collaboration, and a distinct governance structure of the proposed European Competitiveness Fund (ECF).
The Guild supports the agreement's call for a stronger focus on research excellence, openness to international collaboration, and a distinct govenance structure of the ECF. The association particularly welcomes the agreement’s call for a ringfenced FP10 budget of €200 billion stating the importance of R&I to boost Europe’s prosperity, build its resilience, security and long-term competitiveness. Research excellence is also highlighted as key in the agreement through clear support for basic and frontier research, reinforcing funding instruments such as the European Research Council (ERC) and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), retaining excellence as an award criterion and safeguard the instruments’ autonomy.
The Guild also supports the vision for FP10 and the ECF to have clearly distinct governance structures and be connected through a well-defined and structured interface. The association states that the agreement recognises the need for FP10 calls for collaborative challenge-oriented research to continue to be defined by the FP10 Programme Committee, so that they will remain scientifically relevant and geared towards the most innovative solutions.
At a time of geopolitical instability, the agreement also provides a strong legal basis for maintaining FP10’s global nature and strengthening international R&I collaboration, The Guild says. The association welcomes the replacement of ECF's EU preference rules with proportionate research security measures, amendments making third country association more attractive as well as the creation for a dedicated category for the UK and Switzerland, and the introduction of a “trusted partner” status. In its statement, The Guild also strongly welcomes the agreement's proposal to reinstate FP10 as a civilian research programme.
The Guild urges the ITRE Committee and the European Parliament to fully endorse the agreement in preparation for the upcoming trilogues to ensure a timely launch of the next Horizon Europe Programme.
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