Council Agrees on New ERA Policy Agenda and Launches ERA Policy Cycle 2025-2027

After two years of preparatory work within the ERA Forum, ERAC, and ultimately in the Council, EU research ministers reached a political agreement on the Council Recommendation for the second European Research Area (ERA) Policy Agenda (EPA) 2025–2027 during their meeting in Brussels on 23 May 2025. The formal adoption and publication of the legal act will follow in the coming weeks.

The new EPA sets out 11 ERA Structural Policies and 8 ERA Actions, representing a comprehensive set of measures to strengthen the ERA, see the list below. Its entry into force has been delayed by six months, as it was agreed that the incoming European Commission should make the formal proposal.

Throughout the preparation of the new EPA, the revised ERA governance structure has proven highly effective. This is particularly evident in the work of the ERA Forum, where the European Commission, Member States, Associated Countries, and stakeholders collaborate in a spirit of co-creation and equality. In particular, the active engagement of stakeholder umbrella organisations has brought valuable expertise and strong commitment to the process.

With the adoption of the EPA, attention now turns to implementation. The many recommended activities must be carried out both at EU and national levels. Austria, for example, has already begun work on its second national ERA Action Plan, which will be presented at the 3rd Austrian ERA Symposium on 17 November 2025 in Vienna.

EPA 2025-2027 – ERA Structural Policies

• Enabling open science via sharing and re-use of data, including through the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC)
• Strengthening sustainability, accessibility and resilience of research infrastructures in the ERA
• Strengthening gender equality and inclusiveness in the ERA, notably with an intersectional approach
• Making research careers more attractive and sustainable, and support mobility
• Reforming research assessment
• Upscaling knowledge valorisation capacities and activities
• Implementing the Global Approach to R&I
• Making the strategic energy technology (SET) plan a key thematic component of the ERA
• Improving the articulation between R&I and higher education within the ERA and unleashing the full potential of European R&I ecosystems
• Enhancing trust in science through citizen participation, engagement and science communication
• Improve EU access to excellence.

EPA 2025-2027 – ERA Actions

• Applying equity in open science
• Advancing the European Science for Policy (S4P) ecosystem
• Facilitating and accelerating the responsible use of AI in science in the EU
• Enhancing research security
• Accelerating R&I investments for Europe’s industrial transformation and competitive sustainability
• Accelerating new approach methodologies (NAMs) to advance biomedical research and testing of medicinal products and medical devices
• Developing a coherent and coordinated framework for a European approach to integrity and ethics in R&I in the face of emerging challenges.
• Empowering R&I: A new era in research management.