At a decisive moment for Europe's future, the negotiations on the next EU seven-year budget—the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028-2034—and the final design of the 10th Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP10) will shape Europe's capacity to innovate, remain globally competitive, strengthen societal resilience, and uphold democratic values.
- Date
- Wednesday 8 Jul 2026, 09:00 - 14:30
- Type
- Symposium
- Spoken Language
- English
- Room
- International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Aula B
- Location
Kortenaerkade 12, 2518 AX The Hague
Across Europe, there is broad consensus among policy makers, industry leaders, governments, and the research community: research, innovation, and talent are central to Europe’s future. At the same time there are serious concerns whether Europe’s political ambitions will be matched by adequate investment — both at EU level and within Member States.
While strong evidence supports the necessity for a substantial increase of the FP10 budget, to unlock both breakthrough and impact‑driven research and innovation, there is growing uncertainty about the willingness to deliver the required level of funding. At the same time, values‑driven, curiosity‑led and human‑centred research remains insufficiently understood and undervalued, despite being foundational to Europe’s resilience, strategic autonomy, competitiveness, and democratic way of life.
As research intensive, excellence driven and committed to creating positive societal impact, Erasmus University Rotterdam is convening this high‑level event to bring together policy makers, political and academic leaders, researchers, funders, industry representatives, from the Netherlands and across Europe for a dialogue that can facilitate connection between political priorities and scientific, societal and market realities, and inspire informed choices that can positively influence the outcome of FP10 and the EU budget negotiations.
The discussion will focus on three critical choices for Europe’s research and innovation future:
- substantially increased FP10 budget, sufficient to unlock Europe’s full breakthrough and impact‑driven R&I potential
- sustained and protected investment in frontier, curiosity‑driven research, safeguarding the autonomy and independence of the European Research Council (ERC) — the cornerstone of Europe’s research excellence
- rebalanced and increased investment in Social Sciences and Humanities, essential for values‑driven, human‑centred innovation and societal breakthroughs.
Join the discussions that hope to inspire connection between political priorities and scientific, societal and market realities, and facilitate informed choices that can positively influence the outcome of FP10 and the EU budget negotiations.
Why your presence matters
At this critical juncture, when the future of the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (R&I) is being determined, the research and innovation community must be visible, connected, and heard.
Your participation and perspectives are essential to shaping a strong, ambitious and value‑driven future for European research and innovation.
Programme overview
A high‑level stakeholders discussion bringing together European and national voices from research and innovation policy, government, funding organisations, academia, and industry to discuss how FP10 can best serve Europe’s long‑term ambitions — economically, socially, and democratically.
Prof. dr. Rianne Letschert, Minister of Education, Culture and Science of Netherlands is invited (confirmation pending)1 to give an opening speech, joining Prof. Maria Leptin, President of the European Research Council who will also address the audience with a keynote speech, setting the tone for the debate.
An inspiring dialogue with ERC laureates and researchers, incl. Prof. dr. Maria Leptin, ERC President and Prof. dr. Eveline Crone, former Vice‑President of the ERC Scientific Council. The aim of the session is showcasing how frontier, investigator‑driven science fuels discovery, innovation, and societal progress — and discussing why freedom, trust, and excellence are essential conditions for this to thrive.
The programme includes a networking lunch, offering participants the opportunity to exchange perspectives across sectors, disciplines, and generations.
Speakers
We are aiming to have a diverse discussion table with distinguished participants such as:
- Prof. Maria Leptin, President of the European Research Council
- Prof. Anneliene Bredenoord, President of Erasmus University Rotterdam & member of the High-Level Expert Group on the future of Horizon Europe (Heitor Group)
- Prof. Eveline Crone, former Vice-President of the ERS Scientific Council
- ERC Laureates and researchers
- High-level officials from the Dutch Ministries of Education, Culture and Science; Economics Affairs and Climate Policy; and Ministry of Finance
- Members of the Dutch Parliament
- Representatives from industry and Dutch innovation ecosystems.
We will be regularly updating the programme and the speakers on this event page.
Last update: 18 May 2026
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