Non-EU countries have flocked to be associate members of Horizon Europe, the EU’s Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, despite the costs and the cumbersome bureaucracy. The Framework Programme is a really powerful and practical way for a flagging EU to assert its voice and its values in a world unravelling before our eyes. 

You can read why Linda and her co-author, Kurt Deketelaere, think this is so important in this opinion piece they have co-authored for sciencebusiness.net. Kurt is Secretary-General of the League of Research Universities, which Linda chairs. 

Political leaders across EU member states urgently need to recognise the value of the Framework Programme - and its next iteration, FP10 - particularly as the Multiannual Financial Framework comes closer to agreement over the coming months, possibly during Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union. 

The Framework Programme is not a perfect instrument. It has its flaws. But there is nothing like it in the world. It’s about so much more than universities: it is the global flagship the EU so desperately needs right now.