Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions: European R&I organisations call for budget increase

"We urge the European Commission, Parliament and Council to recognise the invaluable contributions of the MSCA by increasing its budget, while retaining its purely bottom-up research character," say a number of European R&I organisations and networks, including Leru and The Guild, in an appeal dated 03/10/2024.

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action, part of Horizon Europe, aims to encourage the mobility of researchers between countries, sectors and disciplines on research projects and training programmes. It focuses in particular on funding for doctoral and post-doctoral students. In 2024, its budget is €1.25 Bn.

The signatories of the appeal regret that "despite its achievements and popularity, the programme is notably absent from Mario Draghi's report [on the future of European competitiveness, published on 09/09] and from the mission letters" of Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for R&I, and Roxana Mînzatu, Executive Vice-President for Human Resources, Skills and Readiness, and Education.

"We express our collective concern at this omission, which overlooks the essential…