Maria Leptin to News Tank: "I hope the independence gets fully cemented for the ERC"

"I’m optimistic, and I hope that with the emphasis placed by the Heitor report on autonomy, independence, and the ERC as an example, we can have a productive dialogue with the Commission, Council, and Parliament. I hope this independence is something that gets fully cemented for the ERC", says Maria Leptin, President of the ERC, to News Tank on 04/11/2024.

She looks back at the report published on 16/10/2024 by Manuel Heitor's group of experts. Asked how the proposed recommendations could be implemented, she says: "It is not in our hands; that’s up to the European Commission, and then the European Council and Parliament".

Some stakeholders in Brussels are concerned that FP10 does not feature in the mission statement of the next Commissioner, Ekaterina Zaharieva. They are also worried about a document from the European Commission's DG Budget merging FP10 and other programmes under a competitiveness fund.

The President of the ERC reacts: "We don’t even know if in the future there will be a similar FP as we have now. There are many rumours, so it’s hard to comment at this stage. We might…