The European Commission has closed a public consultation on a proposed European Research Area (ERA) Act after receiving 735 contributions and 117 position papers.
Responses were submitted from all 27 EU member states, as well as eight countries associated to the EU’s Horizon Europe research programme and 15 non-EU countries, the Commission revealed on Friday.
Academic and research institutions made up 45% of participants, followed by EU citizens at 24%.
Europe “cannot afford a research system that is fragmented or held back by borders”, Ekaterina Zaharieva, the European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, said in the same publication.
The European Research Area is the EU’s long-running plan for research and innovation to operate more like a single market, with fewer barriers to researchers and knowledge moving across borders.
What the proposed ERA Act covers
The ERA Act is intended to address issues including fragmented rules, uneven investment in research and development, and barriers to sharing knowledge across the bloc.
The Commission said the proposal includes national commitments to increase research and development spending, with an aim of reaching 3% of GDP.
Other elements listed include closer coordination of research and innovation policies between the EU and member states, and measures linked to researcher careers and mobility — including support for “open science”, meaning research outputs such as publications and data being more widely accessible.
A first review of the consultation responses found calls for easier cross-border working for researchers, including simpler recognition of academic qualifications gained in another EU country.
Contributors also asked for clearer and more predictable public investment commitments, and stronger protection for researchers’ freedom to carry out scientific work across the EU.
The Commission said it will now analyse the submissions, ahead of presenting a proposal expected in the third quarter of 2026. The consultation closed on 23 January 2026.
