Leading research voices call for separate EU regulation on academic freedom

Stakeholders from the research sector, including a leading MEP and head of a major university association, have called for specific EU legal protection of academic freedom.

During a debate on academic freedom held at the European Parliament on 13/01/2026, Kurt Deketelaere, Secretary General of the League of European Research Universities (LERU), said: "The idea of a separate EU regulation on academic freedom is... a very valuable one. The lessons from the US show that this can't be taken for granted. It needs very strong legal backing."

Speaking at an event organised by the Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA) of the European Parliament, Deketelaere said that the fact that the EU already had "constitutional court jurisprudence and Article 13 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights protecting academic freedom" had led to discussions on whether a "specific, separate European act on the protection of academic freedom was needed".

Speaking at the same event, Christian Ehler, a German centre-right MEP, said: "While European treaties and the Charter [of Fundamental…