EP President calls for academic freedom to be protected to safeguard democracy

Roberta Metsola, the President of the European Parliament, has said academic freedom should be protected as one of the cornerstones of democracy.

Speaking at the annual conference of the EP's Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA) on academic freedom on 04/03/2026, Metsola said: "Academic freedom will always be a threat to despots and dictators. That is why we preserve and fight for it".

She added: "We have to be open-eyed about the challenges... Acting now to preserve it isn't just in the interests of academia; it is one for all of us."

Metsola referred to the arrest and execution in 1980 in Iran of Farrokhroo Parsa, a former Minister of Education and a symbol of academic independence. She said that repression of intellectual freedom and fundamental rights was part of the lack of human rights in Iran today.

The EP President said that protecting academic freedom would enable Europe to lead in key strategic industries like AI, biotechnology and quantum technology, creating the foundation for sustainable growth and innovation.

Ekaterina Zaharieva, the European Commissioner…