ECTRI replies to the EC call for evidence on the European Research Area (ERA) Act

With this initiative, the European Commission aims to streamline the European Research Area (ERA) framework, strengthening R&D investment and raising it to the 3% GDP target.

ECTRI welcomes the opportunity to contribute to this process and underlines the following 7 key points to support the development and full realisation of the ERA:

1. Boost ERA critical research sectors through EU Members’ R&I plans. For transport research, this process will accelerate the transition to a multi-modal, smart, and sustainable mobility, and encourage decarbonisation
2. Set up a simplified administrative/legal framework across the EU enabling improved research infrastructures and easier access to them for researchers
3. Increase attractiveness for research careers in the EU – especially in Southern and Eastern Europe. This includes salaries harmonisation, and gender equality and equal opportunities promotion, which can be achieved with flexible career paths, mentorship, and targeted support
4. Simplify decision-making rules in EU research policy that slow down ERA’s ability to respond to emerging challenges
5. Promote pan-European programs facilitating knowledge transfer. Merge existing collaboration platforms that unite different stakeholders and optimise these connections in the future Framework Programme, with plans to exploit developed patents/products/services
6. Use the ERA Act as a tool that mitigates geopolitical tensions, promotes international cooperation, and enables critical partnerships with key third countries
7. Complement this impact assessment with a business plan that shapes a more efficient ERA, and ensures a fair distribution of benefits and costs across involved parties

Read the full position paper here.

Thanks to the ECTRI Task Force EU Policy for contributing to this paper.

Special thanks to the main contributors of the ECTRI position paper: Elisabete Arsénio and András Munkácsy