ERA Act: "Playtime is over; get it on legislative books before the end of the mandate" (K. Deketelaere)

"Playtime is over. We must get the ERA Act on the EU’s legislative books before the end of this Commission and Parliament mandate. We have momentum and political support; let’s use it now together", states Kurt Deketelaere, Secretary General of Leru, on 17/09/2025, the second day of the R&I event organised by the European Commission in Brussels.

He speaks during a round table titled "ERA Act, are we brave enough?" with Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Start-ups and R&I, and Robbert Dijkgraaf, President-Elect of the International Science Council and Professor at the University of Amsterdam.

"If we want to continue to be the proud continent of the best-educated people in the world, and on top of the ratings of the number of researchers population, we should really and finally complete the Single market and the freedoms we are proud of", says the Commissioner, after referring to the barriers of free movement in Europe.

"We can't realise the European research area and the fifth freedom without top-down legislation. And we need it quickly, to resolve the contradiction between our…