Leuven, 29 June 2026
CESAER and partners today publishes a joint statement calling on European leaders to recognise and reinforce the role of Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) for FP10 as research talent is Europe’s strategic advantage.
As negotiations advance on Horizon Europe 2028–2034 (FP10) and the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), the signatory organisations stress that MSCA is first and foremost about research careers.
For thirty years, the programme has supported researchers from doctoral candidates to emerging research leaders, helping them build excellent research careers in Europe and across all scientific domains.
The statement underlines that MSCA is, and must remain, a research programme. Its purpose is not to respond to short-term labour market shortages or to become a top-down skills instrument. Its strength lies in enabling excellent researchers to pursue ambitious ideas, build independence, develop international and intersectoral networks, and contribute to strong research environments across Europe.
Mattias Björnmalm, Secretary General of CESAER said:
“Europe’s competitiveness will not be secured by technology targets and investment instruments alone. It depends on the people able to generate new knowledge, build research careers and turn ideas into future capabilities. MSCA is one of Europe’s strongest instruments for doing exactly that. As negotiations on the next Horizon Europe advance, European leaders should be clear: MSCA is not a short-term skills tool to be redirected towards today’s priorities. It is Europe’s proven research careers programme. Preserving its bottom-up, researcher-driven model and scaling its impact is essential for Europe’s long-term competitiveness, resilience and capacity to lead.”
For CESAER, this debate is central to the role of universities of science and technology in Europe’s future competitiveness, prosperity and resilience. Our Members train, attract and support research talent, provide the environments in which research careers can develop, and connect frontier research with advanced technology development, innovation and societal impact.
The undersigned organisations call on European leaders negotiating the next Horizon Europe to maintain MSCA within Pillar I as a fully bottom-up programme, open to all scientific domains.
Strategic, mission-oriented and targeted research instruments have an important place in Europe’s research and innovation landscape, but they should not come at the expense of MSCA’s proven role in supporting research careers.
CESAER stands ready to work with the European Parliament, Council and Commission to ensure that the next Horizon Europe strengthens Europe’s research career pathways and enables MSCA to deliver with greater ambition.
For more information, please contact our Senior Advisor for Innovation & Sustainability Louise Drogoul.
List of co-signatories
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