Where does EC shake-up leave education and research?

University stakeholders are disappointed that European Commission president re-elect Ursula von der Leyen has split the portfolios for research and innovation from education in her proposed new top team.

They are also surprised that no one appears to have responsibility for the next framework programme to take over from the €93.5 billion (US$104.5 billion) Horizon Europe R&D programme, which ends in 2027.

However, most experts are keeping their fingers crossed that extensive lobbying by organisations from research and higher education, backed by representatives from industry, will see funding boosted for science and development, even if the focus is shifted towards increasing competitiveness to stop Europe falling further behind the United States and China.

Kurt Deketelaere, secretary general of the League of European Research Universities (LERU), is already preparing for “a revolution rather than evolution” in research and innovation funding as part of the European Union’s next multiannual financial framework (MFF) agreement, which will allocate resources for the period from 2028 to 2034.

Speaking to University World News, Deketelaere admitted to being surprised that Von der Leyen’s mission letters to her proposed new College of Commissioners made no explicit mention of Framework Programme 10, which is expected to replace, or carry on, from Horizon Europe (FP 9) – the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation.

At present the Horizon Europe structure is split into three main parts – Pillar I for excellent science, including funding the European Research Council and Marie Sklodowska-Currie Actions; Pillar II to fund global challenges and European industrial competitiveness; and Pillar III to fund Innovation Europe, including the European Innovation Council.

Emphasis on competitiveness

Deketelaere said: “There’s clearly going to be a greater emphasis on competitiveness in the future. Nearly everyone thought there would be an evolution to FP 10, but reading between the lines we may be in for a revolution, especially if we get a doubling of the funding for research and innovation which many people are asking for.

“The commission can’t abolish the framework programme, but they could wrap it up as something else and the big question is, What would we have to give up?” said Deketelaere, who argues there can be no innovation without basic research to come up with fresh ideas to improve competitiveness.

Von der Leyen finally announced the roles and responsibilities she plans to give her new College of Commissioners last week after a last-minute drama when the long-standing French European Commissioner, Thierry Breton, announced his immediate resignation.

He had been expected to serve as an executive vice-president (EVP) in the next commission and many, including Deketelaere, thought research and education would report to him.

However, after a series of well publicised clashes with Von der Leyen, Breton announced on social media that he was standing down with immediate effect on 16 September.

A more balanced team

The next day the European Commission president announced her preferred new team after meeting the Conference of Presidents of the political groups in the European Parliament. The names still have to be ratified by members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and some could fall during the hearings if the parliamentarians consider they are not up to the job.

The team at POLITICO has produced a helpful guide to Von der Leyen’s second team of European commissioners, who are due to take over on 1 December if all runs smoothly.

Von der Leyen said one of her chief aims was getting a balance, both in gender and geography, for her new College of Commissioners, and she managed to improve the number of female candidates being recommended to 11 (40%). When the horse trading started for the new commission it looked like there would be around 22% women and 78% men.

Among the winners is a new proposed team of six executive vice-presidents: four women and two men – “Three from member states that joined before the fall of the Iron Curtain. And three from member states that joined after Europe was reunited,” said Von der Leyen.

Among the last-minute tweaks following the departure of Breton and his French replacement by Stéphane Séjourné as the executive vice-president for prosperity and industrial strategy, is a reward for Finland for being one of the few that put forward a female candidate in the first round.

Henna Virkkunen, a one-time journalist and former Finnish education minister, is in line to become executive vice-president for tech-sovereignty, security and democracy, with responsibility for the portfolio on digital and frontier technologies.

The new commissioner for startups, research and innovation, Ekaterina Zaharieva, will be the third Bulgarian in a row to fill the role if approved by MEPs. She will report to Séjourné on matters of industrial strategy and prosperity and to Virkkunen on technological sovereignty.

Meanwhile, Roxana Mînzatu, from Romania, is due to become executive vice-president for people, skills and preparedness with responsibility for skills, education and culture, quality jobs and social rights.

Mînzatu’s duties will include developing the European Education Area and supporting a common approach to skills; the European Universities initiative and the European Degree as well as developing a new STEM Education Strategic Plan.

She is comparatively unknown to many European university stakeholders and the fact that education is not in Mînzatu’s rather convoluted job title is a worry for some, as is creating a divide between education and research.

The current European Commissioner Iliana Ivanova has responsibility for innovation, research, culture, education and youth.

The next College of Commissioners will spread these responsibilities across Von der Leyen’s next top team, with 35-year-old Glenn Micallef, from Malta, being proposed as the new commissioner for intergenerational fairness, culture, youth and sport.

Danger of siloes

Emmanuelle Gardan, director of the Coimbra Group of 40 multidisciplinary European universities, told University World News: “It is disappointing that the research and innovation, and the education portfolios are split between two different commissioners [and] EVP-designates.

“This increases the risk of silo approaches, whereas the education and research/innovation missions of universities are closely intertwined and inseparable.”

Enhanced collegiality, which was emphasised by Von der Leyen in her mission letters to her proposed new College of Commissioners, “will be absolutely key”, said Gardan.

She told University World News that the “diversity of priorities” means that universities and their umbrella organisations will have to work closely with several commissioners-EVPs and she will be pressing for ‘education’ to be added to Mînzatu’s title during the confirmation hearings.

Thomas Ekman Jørgensen, director for policy coordination and foresight at the European University Association (EUA), said they were also not happy to see education and research split.

He told University World News: “There has been progress in coordination between the two areas over the last years, and we fear that we are going backwards here.

“Especially when Mariya Gabriel was commissioner for innovation, research, culture, education and youth, there was very good coordination and dialogue when it came to the European Universities Initiative.

“Generally, when you think about the areas like careers, international cooperation or the whole innovation field, there is potential for more coherence across research and education, so we do not see the portfolio in the outgoing commission as being too wide; rather it was sensibly covering areas that are connected.”

Obvious upgrading

He did, however, welcome the obvious upgrading represented by skills [and] education being at the executive vice-president level in Von der Leyen’s proposed new top team.

“Zaharieva’s agenda is also very substantial, including ambitious regulation on the European Research Area and innovation as well as initiatives on important areas like infrastructure and AI.

“On top of this, there will be the development of a possibly very different framework programme for research. She will have her hands full,” said Jørgensen.

Jan Palmowski, secretary general of the Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities, told University World News he would also have preferred a joint (research and education) portfolio to remain, but he accepted “this is not up for grabs at this point”.

He is more worried by the addition of ‘startups’ to the job title of the R&I commissioner-designate and “the absence of education in any title for the various commissioner-EVPs”.

He said: “The EVP for people, skills and preparedness will focus very much on skills, but education is about more than skills.

“It’s about ensuring we have a young generation with critical minds and the ability to navigate big challenges in a fast-changing world over the rest of their lives.”

As for the ‘characters’ being proposed, Palmowski said: “Apart from Virkkunen, none of the other proposed designate post-holders have rich experience in R&I (or HE)”, but he added that Carlos Moedas turned out to be an excellent commissioner, despite having had a strong background in banking – but not in R&I.

“That is why the hearings are so important. We really need the candidates to demonstrate an understanding of what we do and to hear a commitment about the integrity of the next Framework Programme; Roxana Mînzatu will need to demonstrate a true understanding that higher education is about much more than the teaching of quantifiable skills,” Palmowski said.

* A joint event on the next EU budget and why investing in R&I is so important is being hosted by the Research Matters campaign in collaboration with CSIC Brussels and the Young European Research Universities Network (YERUN). It is being held on 2 October in Brussels and is open to all interested. Registration details can be found here.

The keynote speaker will be Enrico Letta, former Italian Prime Minister and author of the report Much more than a market. Other speakers include Dr Maria Leptin, president of the European Research Council and German MEP and rapporteur for Horizon Europe, Christian Ehler.

The event is part of the Research Matters campaign launched by leading research and innovation organisations and follows the recently published Draghi Report on The future of European competitiveness, which recommends doubling the next EU budget for R&I to €200 billion. The campaign is hosted by EUPRIO, the university communication organisation of Europe.

Nic Mitchell is a UK-based freelance journalist and PR consultant specialising in European and international higher education. He blogs at www.delacourcommunications.com