Leuven, 9 October 2026
Ahead of the Irish EU Presidency’s revised negotiating box for the next EU budget, expected tomorrow, 10 October, CESAER urges governments to protect investment in research, education and innovation. At least €200 billion for FP10 and €60 billion for Erasmus+ would strengthen the scientific knowledge, talent and technologies on which Europe’s future depends. A report published today reinforces the evidence.
Tomorrow’s expected proposal for the EU’s next long-term budget will test Europe’s commitment to its own competitiveness and prosperity. As the Irish EU Presidency prepares its revised negotiating box for 2028–2034, CESAER calls on the EU Council and member states to safeguard the investments that enable Europe to discover, develop and shape the technologies of the future.
Pressure to reduce the overall budget makes these choices more consequential. Research, education and innovation underpin progress across Europe’s priorities, including secure energy supplies, better healthcare, resilient societies, sustainable food production and competitive industries. Weakening their foundations would make those ambitions harder and more expensive to achieve.
CESAER, the strong and united voice of universities of science and technology in Europe, urges governments to secure at least €200 billion for the next Horizon Europe programme (FP10) and €60 billion for Erasmus+, with protected budgets for both throughout 2028–2034.
Mattias Björnmalm, Secretary General of CESAER, said:
“Finance ministers need to weigh what a cut saves today against what it costs Europe tomorrow. Joint investment in research, education and innovation connects expertise, facilities and people across borders, enabling each country to achieve more than it could alone. Weakening that capacity risks increasing Europe’s dependencies, including on technologies developed elsewhere. Tomorrow’s negotiating box must protect the scientific knowledge and talent that will underpin Europe's prosperity long after this budget ends.”
Universities of science and technology connect scientific discovery and technology development with engineering, education and entrepreneurship. They develop new knowledge, educate the people who can apply it and work with businesses and public partners to turn it into practical benefits. Europe needs sustained investment across these activities to build both the industries and the capabilities of the coming decades.
A report published today (PDF) by CESAER and six partner organisations provides concrete evidence.
At the event "Investing in what makes Europe strong" on 9 September, Stephanie Wehner, Professor of Quantum Information at CESAER Member Delft University of Technology and Director of the European Quantum Internet Alliance, showed how European Research Council grants helped establish scientific foundations that subsequent collaborative funding brought together. Cooperation across countries is advancing quantum internet technologies at a scale and speed beyond the reach of any single member state.
This capacity begins with the freedom to explore questions whose applications are not yet known. As Orla Feely, President of CESAER and President of University College Dublin, emphasised in her closing remarks, underlining the importance of fundamental research:
“Everything else ultimately depends upon our capacity to ask questions whose answers — and applications — we may not yet know.”
The next EU budget must give that work the resources and certainty to succeed. FP10 needs protected, predictable funding, with additional resources for new priorities and agreement in time for its first calls in January 2028. An autonomous FP10 and a strong European Competitiveness Fund must work together, connecting excellent research with accelerated technological development.
Education is equally fundamental. Erasmus+ enables students and staff to learn across borders and universities to strengthen education together. For science and technology, including engineering, it helps develop the expertise, international experience and capacity to collaborate that Europe needs. Investing in advanced technologies must go hand in hand with investing in the people who will develop and use them.
Ahead of the European Council on 15–16 October, CESAER calls on heads of state or government and finance ministers to defend these investments in their national negotiating positions, alongside stronger investment at home. The next EU budget will shape Europe’s scientific and technological strength well beyond 2034. Tomorrow’s negotiating box must give Europe the means to build it.
Report and joint statement
The event report is published jointly by CESAER, Coimbra Group, the European University Association, EU-LIFE, The Guild, the League of European Research Universities and the Young European Research Universities Network.
Contact
For more information, please contact our Senior Advisor for Innovation & Sustainability Louise Drogoul.
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