All EU citizens were invited to provide feedback on the upcoming European Research Area (ERA) act, which aims to create a single, borderless market for research, innovation and technology across the EU.
Executive member Carina Geldhauser (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) and GYA member and former Slovenian government member Emilija Stojmenova (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia) collected feedback from EU-based GYA members and collated their input below.
Opportunities & Challenges
The ERA Act should address key systemic challenges facing researchers, particularly:
- Career precarity for early- and mid-career researchers (EMCRs) and the lack of long-term positions.
- Unequal access to funding, infrastructures, and opportunities across EU regions.
- Gender imbalances and insufficient support for female researchers at reproductive age.
- Risks to academic freedom in some regions, and declining public trust in science.
At the same time, there are opportunities to:
- Strengthen academia–industry links.
- Rebalance funding between basic and applied research.
- Improve visibility of the societal and economic value of science.
Mobility & Careers
The ERA Act should:
- Introduce measures for family-friendly mobility (childcare, dual-career support, visas for dependents).
- Encourage stable positions for EMCRs, alongside mentoring and entrepreneurship training.
- Promote streamlined visa access and a European Researcher Mobility Passport.
- Support recognition of degrees and research experience across Member States to reduce mobility barriers.
Research Ecosystem
- Incentivise joint programmes and shared infrastructures between universities, research institutes, industry, and civil society.
- Strengthen targeted support for widening countries and underrepresented institutions through mentoring and regional hubs.
- Adapt assessment systems to reward collaboration, especially for EMCRs.
Open Science & Data
- Align national open science and open data policies under a shared EU framework.
- Recognise research outputs as a public good and ensure transparent evaluation systems across Member States.
Funding & Resources
The ERA Act should:
- Create smaller, flexible starter grants and fellowships for EMCRs.
- Ensure portability of grants across borders and institutions.
- Encourage leaner grant application procedures (two-stage evaluations).
- Prioritise stable base funding alongside competitive calls.
- Establish dedicated Horizon Europe calls exclusively for young researchers as leading PIs.
- Require coordinators to include young faculty as partners in projects to build leadership capacity.
Societal Impact
- Promote citizen science and stakeholder co-creation.
- Integrate sustainability, inclusion, and digital transformation into all funding instruments.
Global Dimension
- Facilitate joint programmes with global partners on shared challenges (climate, health, digitalisation).
- Simplify mobility for non-EU nationals with visa reforms and recognition measures.
- Promote equitable international collaborations that avoid brain drain.
Key Change Needed
The ERA Act should rebalance the distribution of EU funding so that a greater share directly benefits researchers rather than being absorbed by institutional overheads. Increased transparency and accountability in how research budgets are spent would directly improve researchers’ working conditions.
Additionally, reducing administrative burdens, ensuring portability of contracts and funding, and providing consistent career frameworks across Europe would significantly improve researcher mobility, retention, and excellence.