Latest Science|Business news & analysis
Welcome to the weekly Science|Business roundup of the most significant news in R&D policy and funding, tailored for our LinkedIn audience.
In this week’s main R&D policy news:
This week, European CommissionPresident Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU needs to “build more bridges” between the civilian and military domains, just three weeks before the EU executive presents its proposal and a new Framework Programme for research and innovation, which may include more funding for dual-use technologies.
Meanwhile, European universities are divided on whether Israel should be suspended from Horizon Europe after an internal EU report pointed to widespread evidence of war crimes, food blockages and indiscriminate attacks against civilians in Gaza, David Matthews reports.
As the summer draws near, so does the Danish presidency of the EU Council, whose programme focused on ensuring European security and competitiveness raises high hopes for the research sector.
Brussels and Bern have inked another deal that patches up their relationship following years of acrimonious negotiations, and confirms that Horizon Europe association should be fully signed off this year.
Still in the EU bubble, Juliette Portala dives into the EU’s first-ever Ocean Pact, which comes with a €1-billion budget to restore ocean health and support the blue economy, a third of which is “earmarked” for research and scientific projects, according to a Commission spokesperson.
We also read in a new report from a group of policy thinkers, academics and company leaders that money should be diverted away from underperforming parts of Horizon Europe and redirected towards bigger, commercially sustainable digital projects.
Before its structure is known on July 16, we dig one more time into the future of FP10, with a report from the European Parliament’s science and technology advisory panel saying that more efforts must be made to align research projects with the bloc’s strategic goals.
Read the key highlights from this week’s Policy Bulletin:
In funding news:
On the funding side, Martin Greenacre hears the alarm that European research organisations have sounded as the European Commission wants to take control of Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, which train young scientists, rather than letting academics set their own research priorities.
We also look at a leaked work programme for 2026-27, which reveals that the EU executive intends to run two mega-calls dedicated to research and innovation in support of the Clean Industrial Deal.
Lola Laws, on her end, listens to experts at a Science|Business conference say that Europe needs to strengthen its space sector by refocusing its investments and strategies and exploring opportunities in small satellite launches, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems and the circular economy.
Elsewhere, Martin Greenacre reports on the heads of two public-private partnerships for aviation research and innovation urging the Commission not to take the sector for granted when thinking about competitiveness and sustainability.
In the Funding Radar, we have a list of resilience and climate adaptation-related funding calls.
In the Data Corner, we explain how EU governments have been slow to get behind the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform, which in its first year has directed more than €10 billion in EU funds towards digital and deep technology, clean technology and biotechnology.
In Insider’s View, Goda Naujokaitytė speaks with consultant Matthias Girod, who says that EU funders need to raise their game if they are to attract US scientists or else they will miss out on global talent.
Read the key highlights from this week’s Funding Newswire:
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