European Research Area

The European Research Area (ERA) is a vision for a single, borderless market for research, innovation, and technology across the EU. It enhances the coordination of EU research efforts, boosting the circulation of researchers and knowledge, building critical mass, and promoting excellence. Although the ERA has been in development since 2000, the European Commission injected the ambition with a new lease of life in 2020. This initiative led to a new ERA governance framework shaped by the Pact for Research and Innovation (R&I) in Europe and the ERA Policy Agenda.

ERA Forum for Transition

The ERA Policy Agenda and its effective implementation are coordinated in the ERA Forum for Transition, composed of Member States representatives as well as one representative from each EEA/EFTA Country, and representatives of European R&I stakeholder groups. As one of the stakeholder groups, ALLEA officially represents all European academies and supports the European Commission and the Member States in delivering the ERA Policy Agenda Actions, which cover a wide range of ALLEA’s activities and priorities including Open Science, research assessment, academic freedom, research integrity, international cooperation, trust in science, citizen engagement, diversity and equality, climate sustainability, and many more.

ALLEA Working Group on the European Research Area

The ALLEA Working Group on the ERA (WG ERA) aims to contribute to the further development of the ERA, its political framework, implementation and monitoring. The breadth of expertise and geographical representation of the group’s membership aptly reflects the heterogeneity of the ERA itself. Under the chairpersonship of Professor Arben Merkoçi of the Academy of Sciences of Albania, the working group engages with European institutions, particularly the European Commission, and collaborates with like-minded umbrella organisations from the European research and innovation landscape. As part of this mission, the WG ERA contributes to the design and evaluation of the European Framework Programmes for R&I, and advocates for the best framework conditions for excellent research in Europe and the world.

  • Professor Arben Merkoçi, Academy of Sciences of Albania (Chair)
  • Professor Mete Atature, Bilim Akademisi (Turkey)
  • Professor Daniel Carey, Royal Irish Academy
  • Professor Helen Fulton, Learned Society of Wales
  • Professor Hans Petter Graver, Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
  • Dr Arthur Ishkhanyan, National Academy of Sciences, Republic of Armenia
  • Dr Gisela Kopp, Die Junge Akademie (Germany)
  • Professor Alpár Losonc, Serbian Academy of Sciences
  • Professor Marie Louise Bech Nosch, Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters
  • Professor Simona Pekarek Doehler, Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences
  • Dr Tomasz Poprawka, Polish Academy of Sciences
  • Professor Maarten Prak, KNAW (Netherlands)
  • Professor Barbara Prainsack, Austrian Academy of Sciences
  • Professor Volodymyr Radchenko, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
  • Dr George Sakellaris, Czech Academy of Sciences
  • Professor Roberto Scazzieri, Accademia Nationale dei Lincei (Italy)
  • Dr Katalin Solymosi, Hungarian Academy of Sciences
  • Professor Emilija Stojmenova Duh, Global Young Academy
  • Professor Birgitta Svensson, Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities
  • Professor Gintautas Tamulaitis, Lithuanian Academy of Sciences
  • Professor Miloš Trifković, Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Professor Krista Varantola, Council of Finnish Academies

ALLEA Contact Person

Daniel Kaiser
Scientific Policy Officer
kaiser@allea.org

Related Publications

ALLEA Statement on the Guiding Principles for Framework Programme 10

ALLEA Statement for an ERA of Freedom and Excellence

Delivering Horizon Europe

Living Together: Missions for Shaping the Future

Developing a Vision for Framework Programme 9

Embedding the Social Sciences and Humanities in Horizon 2020

Comments on the European Commission’s Communication on ERA

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