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ERIC Forum

ERIC Forum

The EC ERIC Regulation No 723/2009 on the Community legal Framework for a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) provides a legal instrument for facilitating the establishment and operation of European research infrastructures.

Lobbying Activity

Response to European Research Area (ERA) Act

10 Sept 2025

The ERIC Forum brings together 30 European Research Infrastructure Consortia (ERICs) to strengthen coordination and enhance collaboration across Europe. ERICs are established under a dedicated EU legal framework and are recognised as strategic assets of the ERA. Operating across borders and legal systems, they encounter many of the challenges the ERA Act seeks to address, making them both affected and well placed to contribute solutions for strengthening research careers and securing Europes talent base. We propose that the new EU legal instrument include: (1) A standardisation of employment rules and contractual regimes across the ERA; (2) Adoption of a Europe-wide harmonised framework of job titles and job descriptions, which would enhance the mobility between states and also between sectors (Research and Academia, the commercial, and the productive sector); (3) Measures to promote greater uniformity in the level of social security protection for employees moving between countries, supporting the concept that employees who work in research and innovation are citizens of Europe and not single member states. Supporting arguments: ERICS transcend national boundaries, pool resources, and deliver scientific, technological, and societal impact. It is the highly skilled professionals who operate, maintain, develop, and enable open access to these infrastructures that transform them into engines of discovery, innovation, and competitiveness, empowering Europe as the innovation leader in the Global landscape. More than two decades of efforts in promoting research professionals mobility and improvement in employment conditions have not removed significant obstacles: (1) Portability of employment across Europe is hindered by divergent social security and pension systems; (2) A Wide variety of employment rules and contractual regimes across Member States; (3) Recognition of qualifications remains inconsistent across Member States. Given the lack of full EU legislative competence, efforts to harmonise certain labour law elements, for example, through a 28th legal regime, would be welcome. These issues are further explained in the attached document.
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Meeting with Marc Lemaitre (Director-General Research and Innovation) and

16 Jun 2025 · structured dialogue with European Research Infrastructures (RIs)