In his intervention, Mattias emphasised that Europe already knows how to build excellent teaching and research environments — yet too often lacks the resources and frameworks needed to sustain them. If Europe is serious about attracting, developing, and retaining top global talent in science and technology, it must urgently address the chronically low funding levels facing many universities at national and regional levels. These stand in stark contrast with Europe’s ambition to be a global leader in research, education, and innovation in advanced science and technologies, which are essential for competitiveness, prosperity, and security.
He highlighted the strength and global reputation of flagship programmes such as the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and Erasmus. The long list of outstanding applicants demonstrates that Europe can attract talent — but too many candidates go unfunded simply because budgets are insufficient. Sustained investment, both nationally and at European level, is essential.
Mattias also stressed that excellence requires the right enabling conditions. University autonomy, academic freedom, and cross-border collaboration are fundamental, yet increasingly under pressure in Europe and worldwide. Europe should lead by embedding strong legal protections and by fully realising the fifth freedom — the free circulation of knowledge — as proposed in the Letta report.
He underlined the strategic importance of the European Universities alliances, which are already demonstrating what deep transnational collaboration can achieve. These alliances act as laboratories for new knowledge ecosystems, connecting education, research, and innovation across borders. Through shared governance, strategic alignment, and trust, they are positioned to create the scale and diversity needed to pool infrastructures, expertise, and capacities in ways individual institutions cannot achieve alone.
With proper investment — through national budgets and European instruments such as the European Investment Bank, Erasmus, FP10, and the European Competitiveness Fund — such alliances can become powerful drivers of European competitiveness and technological leadership.
Mattias concluded by noting that success ultimately depends on resources and rules: investing ambitiously and empowering universities to collaborate freely. This is how Europe can become the place where talent chooses to study, research, and innovate — excellent in its own right.
For more information, please contact the Secretariat.
Photos are from the 2025 European Education and Skills Summit in Brussels on 13 November 2025, where Mattias joined a panel on “The battle for talent” together with representatives from the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Commission, universities, alliances, and national governments.
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