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European Research Area Platform

ERA ACT

 

What the Commission is doing?

The European Commission plans to adopt the European Research Area (ERA) Act in 2026, as announced in the Competitiveness Compass for the EU. 

The initiative is a response to longstanding challenges in the EU's research and innovation (R&I) ecosystem, including fragmented regulatory frameworks, uneven R&D investment, and barriers to knowledge sharing. It builds on the successes of the revamped ERA since 2021, in particular the progress made through the ERA Policy Agendas (for an assessment of the status of the implementation of the ERA Policy Agenda 2022-2024, please refer to the 2nd ERA EU-level Report 2024). 

Key Aspects of the Proposed ERA Act:

  • Investment Target: The ERA Act will focus on national commitments to reach a 3% R&D investment target relative to GDP, supported by new legal mechanisms.
  • Alignment of Policies: Enhanced coordination of investments and policies will be promoted between the EU and Member States, particularly in strategic priority areas.
  • Research Framework Improvements: The initiative aims to improve conditions for researchers by facilitating improved research careers, geographical and intersectoral mobility, and open science measures.
  • Safeguarding Values: It seeks to uphold fundamental values, including scientific freedom, ethics, integrity, gender equality, and equal opportunities across the ERA.

 

Why the European Research Area Act is needed?

The ERA Act is expected to benefit all actors of the European research, higher education and innovation ecosystem (including both the 2 million researchers in the EU and all those researchers around the world looking for a safe place to do their research) which should have access to a larger pool of resources, considering the expected increase in average investment. 

The ERA Act aims to tackle long-standing barriers that undermine research careers. Europe continues to produce world-class science, yet careers often remain fragmented, precarious and difficult to navigate across borders. By addressing these framework conditions, it will seek to make research careers more predictable and rewarding, thereby increasing the appeal of scientific professions for young people. Moreover, the ERA Act will aim at strengthening Europe’s research infrastructures, and mainstream open science practices.

This ambition is also consistent with broader EU efforts, such as the ‘Choose Europe for Science’ agenda aimed at making Europe the world’s most attractive place for science, research, and innovation, and to attract and retain the best talents and offer them opportunities at every stage of the career path. The ERA Act is also closely interlinked with the forthcoming European Innovation Act, which aims to create cross-sectoral legal framework conditions to remove barriers for bringing innovative ideas to market in all sectors. 

In addition, guaranteeing the fundamental values in higher education and research will reduce the vulnerability of the system and will improve its fairness and efficiency. We should therefore expect, in the mid-term, a European Research Area more able to produce excellent scientific knowledge and more capable to translate it into market innovations and into solutions to societal, environmental and economic challenges. This in turn, will contribute to attracting more resources, both financial and human, and to increasing the EU’s economic competitiveness and resilience, ultimately benefiting societal wellbeing.

How to get involved?

The ERA Act will affect a broad range of actors in the research ecosystem. Everyone can contribute to the design of the European Research Area Act by replying to the online Public Consultation Questionnaire. All contributions will be analysed and processed to feed into the Commission's proposal for an ERA Act.

More information

 
  • News alert
  • European Research Area Act: A separated Call for Evidence had been launched on 6 August 2025 and closed on 10 September 2025. 178 contributions have been received from 29 countries.
     

Important documents