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All European Academies e.V.

ALLEA

ALLEA is the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, representing 60 academies from 40 EU and non-EU countries.

Lobbying Activity

Response to European Research Area (ERA) Act

10 Sept 2025

Please find the full ALLEA Response to the ERA Act Call for Evidence attached. ALLEA, representing the European Academies of Sciences and Humanities, welcomes the European Commissions proposal for an ERA Act as a major step toward a fully integrated single market for research, knowledge, and technology. The Act should build on existing initiatives, legally anchor the 3% R&D investment target, and address persistent disparities across Member States and regions. This requires transparent national plans, measurable milestones, and targeted capacity-building measures for smaller and less-developed regions to strengthen infrastructures, avoid brain drain, and enhance participation in ERA priorities. The ERA Act must improve framework conditions for researchers by creating stable and attractive career pathways, particularly for early- and mid-career researchers, including portable and flexible funding schemes such as starter and smaller grants. It should harmonise recognition of qualifications, simplify mobility procedures, and institutionalise family-friendly provisions. The Act should also advance Open Science through sustainable and equitable mechanisms, strengthen the resilience of research infrastructures, and reduce unnecessary bureaucracy in funding while safeguarding the integrity of peer review. Fundamental values must be at the heart of the ERA Act: academic freedom should be legally anchored, research integrity and ethics promoted (including for emerging technologies such as AI), and equality, diversity, and inclusion systematically strengthened. Excellence-driven, investigator-led research, including the ERC, must be preserved and reinforced. At the same time, the ERA Act should foster responsible openness to global collaboration, ensure proportionate research security, and explicitly integrate the social sciences, humanities, and arts into European research strategies. By embedding these principles, the ERA Act can deliver a truly inclusive, open, and competitive ERA that supports trust in science and benefits society across Europe and beyond.
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Meeting with Emmanuelle Du Chalard (Head of Unit Communications Networks, Content and Technology)

26 May 2025 · Exchange of views on the Secondary Publication Right (SPR)

Meeting with Ekaterina Zaharieva (Commissioner) and

26 May 2025 · Academic freedom and research security, the European Research Area, and the next Framework Programme for R&I

Response to Evaluation of the EU legislation on plant variety rights

11 Mar 2025

The patentability of food-related technologies and products is a sensitive issue, and some stakeholders therefore consider a different legal treatment of such patents or the patentability of such products to be appropriate. An overview of what the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities considered the most promising short-, medium-, and long-term measures is provided in the attached statement MEASURES TO EASE THE IMPACT OF THE IP SYSTEM ON NEW GENOMIC TECHNIQUES FOR CROP DEVELOPMENT. Short-Term Measures Facilitating access to patent information: Introduce assisted patent searches in the EU, similar to Switzerland, to help small breeders and farmers navigate patent databases. This service could be free and implemented quickly without legal changes. Mandating patent database registration (improving transparency): Require patented plant varieties to be listed in databases like PINTO to help breeders make informed choices. Registration could be made mandatory. Mandating licensing database registration (improving access): Improve access by making participation in licensing databases like ILP and ACLP mandatory. Standardized agreements could enhance transparency, though costs may still be a barrier. Stricter interpretation of patentability requirements: Limit NGT patent scope by enforcing stricter standards on inventive steps and disclosure, especially regarding experimental evidence. Structured licensing schemes of publicly funded research: Require publicly funded research outcomes to be available under fair terms, aligning with Open Science. A stricter approach could involve compulsory licensing. Ethical licensing: Promote voluntary agreements to grant easier access to patented technologies for small breeders, researchers, and socially beneficial applications. These could be mandatory for publicly funded research. Medium-Term Measures Suspending patents related to food plants: Limiting or abolishing food plant patents could improve access but might lead to trade secrets, industry consolidation, and slower innovation. A compromise could restrict product patents while allowing technology patents. Introducing patent pools: Establish cross-licensing agreements within NGT and food plant sectors to facilitate knowledge-sharing. Standard Essential Patents (SEPs): Apply SEP regulations to NGT patents, requiring FRAND (Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory) licensing to balance protection and accessibility. Long-Term Measures Compulsory licensing: Reform the impractical EU cross-licensing system by introducing a licence as of rights model for reasonable patent access. Amending the EU Biotechnology Directive: A fundamental revision could improve access and transparency but is unlikely without a crisis. A new type of IPR for plants: Develop an IP system integrating patents with biodiversity and sustainability policies to protect breeders while ensuring fair access. Effective implementation would require global coordination.
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Meeting with Marc Lemaitre (Director-General Research and Innovation)

3 Mar 2025 · Discuss common interests, potential collaborations, and ways to support mission for pioneering research and innovation in Europe.

Meeting with Christian Ehler (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

21 Nov 2024 · FP10/European science policy

Response to Options for support for R&D of dual-use technologies

24 Apr 2024

The European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities (ALLEA) welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the European Commission's White Paper to support the development of dual-use technologies. Although we encourage the initiative to explore possibilities for cross-fertilisation between what are now strictly separated research programmes, we wish to share our concerns with respect to a possible new funding instrument dedicated to research projects with potential dual-use applications (described as option 3 in the White Paper). .. ALLEA is concerned that a new funding instrument dedicated to potential dual-use projects will add an unnecessary layer of complexity to the already complex landscape of funding programmes. As noted in the White Paper, potential future applications are often uncertain at the start of research projects, and a decision at the outset that a project proposal entails a potential dual-use application will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, in many cases. The artificial division of research projects based on speculative outcomes is expected to create challenges similar to those already experienced when researchers are asked to categorise their project as basic or applied research before work has even started. .. In addition, a separate funding instrument for projects with potential dual-use outcomes requires that the number of projects to be funded, as well as the required budget, is defined at the outset. This will likely mean that a proportion of the budget available for the next Framework Programme (FP10) will be used to fund the new dual-use funding programme, without having sufficient insight into the quality or number of applications under the new instrument. In practice, this could result in a situation where projects of similar scientific quality are funded under the dual-use programme, but not under FP10, or vice versa. .. As a result, ALLEA is concerned that a new funding instrument may create adverse incentives for researchers to game the system - applicants may be tempted to inflate or even fabricate potential dual-use applications in order to meet the criteria for funding eligibility through that instrument. This will make it increasingly difficult for reviewers to identify those research projects that truly have promising dual-use applications. Other applicants may submit the same or a very similar proposal to both the dual-use and Horizon funding programmes to increase their chances of a positive outcome, which risks further contributing to the already high pressure on the peer review system. .. For these reasons, we urge the European Commission to integrate any support for projects with possible dual-use applications into the existing funding programmes (described as option 1 and option 2 in the White Paper), while providing clarity on what qualifies as dual-use through an unambiguous definition and guaranteeing that budget intended for research with civil applications is not diverted to defence or security projects. This would avoid some of the unintended consequences described above and allow all projects within the same themes to undergo an equitable assessment of their scientific quality, as well as the potential benefits and risks to society. .. This Statement was also published on the ALLEA website: https://allea.org/allea-provides-feedback-to-european-commission-consultation-on-funding-for-dual-use-projects/
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Response to Improving the provision of digital skills in education and training

15 Sept 2022

The European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities (ALLEA) recommends that a systemic approach is needed to effectively implement the EU's initiatives on Digital Education and Digital Skills. Such approach should address teaching and learning at different levels: policy, research, curriculum design, teacher education, and practice. In addition, we propose that a greater emphasis be placed on interdisciplinarity, the integrated nature of digital technologies within STEM education, and the critical roles of empirical educational research, initial teacher education (ITE) and teachers’ professional learning (TPL). [This is a shortened version of the original ALLEA Statement - the full Statement, including references, is attached to this submission.] - Interdisciplinarity What remains unclear is which disciplinary perspectives need to come together to reach these goals, as this task cannot simply be taken on by computer science alone. What is needed are interdisciplinary expert groups that reflect on the technical, educational, social, and ethical issues in relation to digital education, and that can advise on political, administrative, and curricular decisions in a coherent manner. Which educational goals should be targeted at which age level and as part of which school subject? The European Commission is in a unique position to make a positive contribution here by stimulating Europe-wide cooperation and exchange of best practices. Existing national coordinating bodies for the development and pedagogically adaptive use of digital technologies, including AI, should be used as guiding examples to inform the development of a European equivalent and employed for focused interdisciplinary innovation efforts. - Evidence-based reforms Another component that needs to be considered more explicitly is the role of research that provides empirical evidence on education innovation. The quality of innovation in education does not depend on whether the interests of stakeholders come together, but on whether decisions stand up to critical empirical inquiry. Every decision about a technical or structural development in digital education must be tested against the latest scientific evidence in relation to teaching and learning, including curricula, pedagogies, ITE and TPL. At present, the quality of new technological developments, as well as the accompanying empirical research, still need to be assessed against more critical standards drawn from the knowledge base of decades of research in (STEM) education. - Initial teacher education and teachers’ professional learning In our view, too little emphasis is currently being placed on the roles of ITE and TPL. A coherent picture of digitalisation-related teacher professionalism is critical to all efforts of systematic development in educational institutions. Any teaching-learning systems, including future AI-supported ones, are much more effective if they are directly integrated into subject teaching. Especially in STEM education, digital learning should be combined with experiencing real-world phenomena and hands-on investigations during all educational stages. Furthermore, in order to select and use educational software appropriately, and to assess the range and limits of algorithms, teachers of all subjects need to be supported in acquiring foundational knowledge about the principles of AI, as well as its ethical use. Likewise, teachers not only of computer science, but also of STEM and other subjects, need to be supported so they develop the requisite Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) and skills needed to critically evaluate and implement technology-based innovations. In all three areas discussed above, the planned initiatives can, and should, support national governments and teachers by identifying positive examples from the very heterogeneous European educational landscape to develop a research-based roadmap towards a technology-driven educational landscape.
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Response to Enabling factors for digital education

15 Sept 2022

The European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities (ALLEA) recommends that a systemic approach is needed to effectively implement the EU's initiatives on Digital Education and Digital Skills. Such approach should address teaching and learning at different levels: policy, research, curriculum design, teacher education, and practice. In addition, we propose that a greater emphasis be placed on interdisciplinarity, the integrated nature of digital technologies within STEM education, and the critical roles of empirical educational research, initial teacher education (ITE) and teachers’ professional learning (TPL). [This is a shortened version of the original ALLEA Statement - the full Statement, including references, is attached to this submission.] - Interdisciplinarity What remains unclear is which disciplinary perspectives need to come together to reach these goals, as this task cannot simply be taken on by computer science alone. What is needed are interdisciplinary expert groups that reflect on the technical, educational, social, and ethical issues in relation to digital education, and that can advise on political, administrative, and curricular decisions in a coherent manner. Which educational goals should be targeted at which age level and as part of which school subject? The European Commission is in a unique position to make a positive contribution here by stimulating Europe-wide cooperation and exchange of best practices. Existing national coordinating bodies for the development and pedagogically adaptive use of digital technologies, including AI, should be used as guiding examples to inform the development of a European equivalent and employed for focused interdisciplinary innovation efforts. - Evidence-based reforms Another component that needs to be considered more explicitly is the role of research that provides empirical evidence on education innovation. The quality of innovation in education does not depend on whether the interests of stakeholders come together, but on whether decisions stand up to critical empirical inquiry. Every decision about a technical or structural development in digital education must be tested against the latest scientific evidence in relation to teaching and learning, including curricula, pedagogies, ITE and TPL. At present, the quality of new technological developments, as well as the accompanying empirical research, still need to be assessed against more critical standards drawn from the knowledge base of decades of research in (STEM) education. - Initial teacher education and teachers’ professional learning In our view, too little emphasis is currently being placed on the roles of ITE and TPL. A coherent picture of digitalisation-related teacher professionalism is critical to all efforts of systematic development in educational institutions. Any teaching-learning systems, including future AI-supported ones, are much more effective if they are directly integrated into subject teaching. Especially in STEM education, digital learning should be combined with experiencing real-world phenomena and hands-on investigations during all educational stages. Furthermore, in order to select and use educational software appropriately, and to assess the range and limits of algorithms, teachers of all subjects need to be supported in acquiring foundational knowledge about the principles of AI, as well as its ethical use. Likewise, teachers not only of computer science, but also of STEM and other subjects, need to be supported so they develop the requisite Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) and skills needed to critically evaluate and implement technology-based innovations. In all three areas discussed above, the planned initiatives can, and should, support national governments and teachers by identifying positive examples from the very heterogeneous European educational landscape to develop a research-based roadmap towards a technology-driven educational landscape.
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Meeting with Keith Sequeira (Cabinet of Commissioner Carlos Moedas)

21 Feb 2018 · Research & Innovation Missions

Meeting with Carlos Moedas (Commissioner)

6 Jul 2015 · Scientific Advice Mechanism

Meeting with Carlos Moedas (Commissioner)

9 Apr 2015 · Meeting with the President of ALLEA