Call for a self-standing framework programme 10 by the Universities of the Netherlands

"The Universities of the Netherlands (UNL) call for unremitting and substantial EU investments in R&I; 220 Bn as called for in the Heitor report; continuing 40 years of highly successful, stand-alone and strong Framework Programmes for supporting both independent bottom-up and challenges-driven precompetitive R&I, based on the excellence principle and along the entire research pipeline in Europe", writes UNL to the President of the European Commission Urusla von der Leyen and Commissioners Ekaterina Zaharieva, Stéphane Séjourné, Piotr Serafin and Wopke Hoekstra, in a letter on 28/04/2025.

"We urge you to act decisively and champion continuous and safeguarded R&I funding, covering the entire spectrum of fundamental to applied research and innovation, fully integrating social sciences and humanities, ensuring sound balance between technical and social innovations. Only in this way will we secure a prosperous, inclusive, competitive, and sustainable future for Europe", states the association.

This letter follows on from a number of similar documents sent to the Commission, such as the…