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The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities

The Guild

The Guild is a network of research-intensive universities enhancing the role of academic excellence in European policy.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and Deutsche Industrie- und Handelskammer and

28 Jan 2026 · Stakeholder dialogue on establishing the Erasmus+ programme for the period 2028-2034

Meeting with Fulvia Raffaelli (Head of Unit Health and Food Safety)

17 Oct 2025 · Discussion on The Guild’s FAQ document on the secondary use of health data

The Guild demands digital rules better reflect university research needs

14 Oct 2025
Topic — The Commission is proposing a digital omnibus to simplify regulations and relieve business burdens.
Message — The Guild requests that the digital omnibus specifically addresses the needs of universities and research organizations. They call for clearer definitions of data-sharing rules and alignment with European Research Area priorities.12
Why — Enhanced legal clarity would resolve uncertainties that currently prevent universities from fully engaging in open science.3
Impact — The European scientific community suffers when fragmented data rules create barriers to cross-border research excellence.4
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Meeting with Agnieszka Skuratowicz (Head of Unit Directorate-General for International Partnerships)

13 Oct 2025 · Education and research under the Global Gateway strategy.

The Guild Urges Research Focus in EU Cardiovascular Plan

16 Sept 2025
Topic — European Commission consultation on a comprehensive plan for cardiovascular health and innovation.
Message — The Guild demands that research and innovation drive the cardiovascular health plan. They call for harmonized data rules to remove barriers to international research.12
Why — This would cement the central role of universities in health research ecosystems.3
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Response to European Research Area (ERA) Act

10 Sept 2025

The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities (The Guild) seeks to address key barriers to the fulfillment of the ERA: (1) R&D spending, (2) Academic freedom, (3) Data access, (4) Research careers- mobility, (5) Infrastructure. The attached document further elaborates on our views and recommendations on how to tackle these issues.
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The Guild urges special status in EU Data Strategy

18 Jul 2025
Topic — EU initiative to streamline data sharing rules and create a coherent legal framework.
Message — Research organizations should be distinguished from for-profit entities within data governance. Legislation must systematically evaluate impacts on scientific research and data innovation. Stakeholders should be included in early consultations and impact assessments.123
Why — Clearer rules would eliminate legal ambiguities that currently block cross-border research projects.45
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Meeting with Lucilla Sioli (Director Communications Networks, Content and Technology) and

9 Jul 2025 · Exchange between AI Office and representatives from the Guild, CESAER, EUA, Coimbra Group and YERUN

The Guild urges EU to prioritize fundamental AI research investment

3 Jun 2025
Topic — A European policy initiative to accelerate AI adoption within the scientific community.
Message — The Guild calls for significant public investment in both the application and fundamental study of AI. They request open-source access to AI models and improved data sharing for researchers.12
Why — Universities would secure the funding and infrastructure needed to remain competitive against private industry.3
Impact — Tech companies may lose control over proprietary data and algorithms through open-source requirements.4
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The Guild urges inclusion of research in EU AI strategy

3 Jun 2025
Topic — A European Commission initiative to accelerate industrial AI adoption and public services.
Message — The organization calls for clear confirmation that the science sector is included in the strategy. They demand alignment between different EU AI policies to prevent conflicting rules and ask for the research community to be included in official strategic dialogues.123
Why — Formal inclusion would secure university influence over AI policy and funding allocations.4
Impact — Private firms may lose dominance if resources shift toward public good research.5
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Meeting with Kirsi Haavisto (Head of Unit Research and Innovation)

3 Jun 2025 · Knowledge valorisation outputs in the context of ERA Policy Agenda (2022-2024) • ERA Policy Agenda 2025-27 and new knowledge valorisation activities • Horizon Europe interim evaluation on improving socio-economic impact

Response to Cloud and AI Development Act

30 May 2025

Founded in 2016, The Guild comprises twenty-three of Europes most distinguished research-intensive universities in seventeen countries, and is dedicated to enhancing the voice of academic institutions, their researchers and their students. The Guild is committed to the pursuit of excellence, the importance of truth-seeking and trust-building as the foundation of public life, and the creation of new knowledge for the benefit of society, culture, and economic growth. The attached document, prepared by experts from the AI/Digital Research Heads Working Group, among others, outlines recommendations for policymakers on fostering the digital and green transition.
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Response to International Digital Strategy

21 May 2025

Founded in 2016, The Guild comprises twenty-two of Europes most distinguished research-intensive universities in sixteen countries, and is dedicated to enhancing the voice of academic institutions, their researchers and their students. The Guild is committed to the pursuit of excellence, the importance of truth-seeking and trust-building as the foundation of public life, and the creation of new knowledge for the benefit of society, culture, and economic growth. The Insight Papers attached below are drawn from discussion and expertise in our North-South Working Group and our AI/Digital Research Heads Working Group.
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Meeting with Filip Van Depoele (Head of Unit Education, Youth, Sport and Culture) and European University Association and

4 Apr 2025 · Exchange of views on the future of the international dimension of the Erasmus+ Programme

Meeting with Ekaterina Zaharieva (Commissioner) and

26 Mar 2025 · Exchange on the role of universities in research and innovation, competitiveness and FP10.

Meeting with Ekaterina Zaharieva (Commissioner) and

26 Mar 2025 · Exchange on the role of universities in research and innovation, competitiveness and FP10

Meeting with Massimiliano Esposito (Head of Unit Research and Innovation)

25 Mar 2025 · Exchange of views on R&I policy and funding for research and innovation

Response to EU Start-up and Scale-up Strategy

17 Mar 2025

The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities (The Guild) identified key enabling factors for the establishment a new startups to exploit research outcomes: (1) researchers' competencies and mindset for exploiting their research outputs; (2) the availability of resources to support researchers in knowledge valorisation (including dedicated funding and professional services); and (3) an enabling regulatory framework. The attached document further elaborates our recommendations.
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Meeting with Manuel Aleixo (Cabinet of Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva)

4 Mar 2025 · R&I priorities

Meeting with Agnieszka Skuratowicz (Head of Unit Directorate-General for International Partnerships)

12 Feb 2025 · Education and research under the Global Gateway strategy

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

27 Jan 2025 · FP10

Meeting with Christophe Galand (Head of Unit Budget) and European University Association and

23 Jan 2025 · Discussion on research place in the the future Multiannual Financial Framework

Meeting with Claire Morel (Head of Unit Education, Youth, Sport and Culture)

21 Jan 2025 · Choose Europe in MSCA

Meeting with Thomas Pellerin-Carlin (Member of the European Parliament)

27 Nov 2024 · Horizon Europe

Response to Communication on the European Research Area Implementation

27 Sept 2024

The Guild's opinion on the revamped ERA is overall positive. We still endorse its core objectives and its underlying principles, as defined in the Pact for R&I. The revised governance model also gave ERA a new raison dêtre. We regard the ERA Forum and the ERA actions as appropriate platforms where the European Commission, Member States, Associated Countries, and stakeholder organisations can share their views, identify factors hampering the emergence and development of a European Research Area, and propose solutions. For this reason, we urge the ERA Forum not to undermine the stakeholder engagement and instead nurture it. In the ERA policy agenda 2021-2024, while some actions have been exemplary in creating such a tripartite dialogue (European Commission, Member States/Association Countries, and stakeholder organisation), others failed to leverage the distinct expertise of stakeholder organisations. For instance, we believe that the ongoing ERA actions on academic freedom (action 6) and access to excellence (action 16) could have benefitted more from the views and the first-hand experience of research-performing and -funding organisations, researchers, and their respective associations. We recognise that some sensitive topics should be discussed behind closed doors and among Member States and Associated Countries only, especially those linked to research security. However, this restricted meeting format must be limited to well-justified cases. Otherwise, it would undermine the very idea of ERA and its governance.
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Meeting with Christian Ehler (Member of the European Parliament)

7 Jun 2024 · European Framework Programme

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

29 Apr 2024

The following points are preliminary indications on questions raised by the White Paper On options for enhancing support for research and development involving technologies with dual-use potential dual use topic. This submission does not represent a finalised position of our network. Nevertheless they are drawn from policy analysis, consultation and discussions held with representatives of our universities across Europe. 1. A clear definition of dual use is needed, since it is hard to distinguish between civil and military applications. 2. The budget concern for R&I programmes should be taken seriously, and if the issue is lack of defence procurement, the solutions should not focus on searching for new funding in the R&I programme. 3. The European Defence Fund has an R&I ''window'', and some of our members have projects running from that programme, which demonstrates its accessibility also to universities. 4. We highlight the importance of Open Science principles, as the development of military applications might come with restrictions for sharing the results or data. 5. The global attractiveness of Horizon could suffer if more restricted calls would be introduced in Pillar 2. 6. As comprehensive universities, we need to adopt a broad understanding of resilience and defence that goes beyond military capacity as the primary means of ensuring the security of our democracies. 7. With the information provided at this stage, The Guild's Vice-Presidents support Option 1 from the White Paper.
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Meeting with Markus Schulte (Cabinet of Commissioner Iliana Ivanova)

10 Jan 2024 · Discussing Horizon Europe, Erasmus+, European Research area and European Education area.

Response to Enhancing research security in Europe

18 Dec 2023

The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities (www.the-guild.eu) underscores the importance of responsible international collaboration in the free pursuit of knowledge. While research excellence thrives on open collaboration, concern is rising about security, reciprocity, and potential dual-use applications. The Guild acknowledges these concerns, nevertheless, we stress that measures to mitigate risks must not thwart our ambitions to address pressing global challenges. Any risks of international collaboration must be balanced with the risks of non-collaboration. We advocate for an approach that enhances trust, understanding and collaboration between researchers, universities, and public authorities. We submit this feedback alongside our Statement on Responsible Internationalisation (9 November 2023; https://www.the-guild.eu/publications/statements/the-guild-statement-on-responsible-internationalisation.pdf) which aligns with the guiding principle of emphasis on "self-governance by the sector in full respect of academic freedom and institutional autonomy" while highlighting the following from our statement: "Governments and public authorities that have concerns about particular kinds of international collaboration in research must not address such issues in top-down ways. A more effective approach should enhance trust, understanding and collaboration between public authorities and researchers. Public authorities play an important role in analysing potential security consequences, however, a responsible risk assessment that can adapt to changing circumstances in specific research fields will require the responsible discretion of experts [...] As collegiate hosts of researchers, universities are best placed to implement security checks that can grapple with the complexities of research alongside wider implications in a timely manner. Such processes must be developed and maintained by institutions through regular improvements that take information from authorities and experts into account. If governments seek to determine specific restrictions on research collaborations in specific topics or fields top-down, they will always be behind the potential risks and benefits to society that research and innovation can provide." The Guild's Responsible Internationalisation Statement was developed with extensive feedback from experts, administrators and leaders of our member institutions, including insight and analysis by our Responsible Internationalisation Task Force. This task force will continue to Identify challenges faced by universities across the European Research Area when developing and implementing their international strategies and to underpin the Guild's dialogue with the European Commissions contribution to the European Economic Security Strategy with regard to international cooperation for R&I and knowledge security.
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Meeting with Lora Borissova (Cabinet of Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen), Renaud Savignat (Cabinet of Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen)

16 Dec 2022 · Cooperation and Team Europe approach in the areas of education, innovation and research.

Meeting with Signe Ratso (Acting Director-General Research and Innovation)

21 Oct 2022 · Speech at General Assembly meeting

Meeting with Catherine Sustek (Cabinet of Vice-President Margaritis Schinas)

21 Oct 2021 · European Strategy for Universities

Response to Requirements for Artificial Intelligence

16 Jul 2021

Founded in 2016, The Guild comprises twenty one of Europe’s most distinguished research-intensive universities in sixteen countries, and is dedicated to enhancing the voice of academic institutions, their researchers and their students. The Guild is committed to the pursuit of excellence, the importance of truth-seeking and trust-building as the foundation of public life, and the creation of new knowledge for the benefit of society, culture, and economic growth. The feedback of The Guild, informed by its Heads of AI/Digital Research, is available in the attached document. The Guild recommends: - The establishment of a high-level expert group, composed of academic researchers among others, whose tasks will include advising on whether any technological progress requires a revision to the annex or to the body text of the AI Act. - Rules which ban practices, such as social scoring, instead of banning technologies that could be used for these practices. - No additional burden on researchers to demonstrate that the AI systems that they develop, deploy or use through their research do not infringe the AI Act. - Mechanisms to ensure that transposition and implementation of the AI Act are harmonised across the Member States. - Support to research projects aimed at elucidating the concepts introduced in the AI Act (e.g. trustworthy AI, robust AI) and finding how AI developers can concretely comply with the AI Act.
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Meeting with Lora Borissova (Cabinet of Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen)

11 Mar 2021 · Innovation and research in Africa

Meeting with Jean-Eric Paquet (Director-General Research and Innovation)

23 Oct 2020 · General Assembly: speech and discussion on ERA

Meeting with Mariya Gabriel (Commissioner) and

5 May 2020 · Universities of the Future, Implications of COVID-19 on the balance between research and innovation in Horizon Europe

Meeting with Mariya Gabriel (Commissioner)

21 Jan 2020 · ERA, European Universities Initiatives, Horizon Europe

Meeting with Anne Bucher (Director-General Health and Food Safety)

18 Jul 2019 · "Horizon Europe: The Guild strategic priorities for Health", presentation of the paper

Meeting with Keith Sequeira (Cabinet of Commissioner Carlos Moedas)

5 Jul 2019 · Horizon Europe Preparation

Meeting with Themis Christophidou (Director-General Education, Youth, Sport and Culture)

10 Jan 2019 · Meeting with Vice-Presidents

Meeting with Jean-Philippe Gammel (Cabinet of Commissioner Tibor Navracsics)

7 Feb 2018 · Higher education

Meeting with Julie Fionda (Cabinet of Commissioner Marianne Thyssen), Stefaan Hermans (Cabinet of Commissioner Marianne Thyssen)

21 Feb 2017 · Horizon 2020