A Shared Vision for Deep Collaboration: Alliances and the European Commission Connect

From left to right: FOREU4ALL Vice-Chair Emily Helmeid, Chair Beatrix Busse, Manuel Aleixo and Alexandra Hild from Ekaterina Zaharieva’s Cabinet, and FOREU4ALL Co-Coordinators Olga Wessels and Ludovic Thilly.

FOREU4ALL welcomes the positive and forward-looking dialogue with the European Commission on the strategic role of European Universities alliances in EU policies and programmes also beyond education and Erasmus+.

Last Monday, our Chair Beatrix Busse, Vice-Chair Emily Helmeid, and Co-Coordinators Olga Wessels and Ludovic Thilly met with Manuel Aleixo and Alexandra Hild from Ekaterina Zaharieva’s Cabinet in the European Commission. The deep collaboration alliances bring was recognised and valued. Alliances play a vital role, for example in attracting and retaining talent, overcoming barriers to the free movement of researchers, and enabling access to world-class research infrastructures.

There was also a meeting with Alina Ujupan and Vanessa Debiais-Sainton from Roxana Mînzatu’s Cabinet to reflect on the urgently needed investment pathway for European Universities alliances. The exchange highlighted the importance of simplifying and strengthening funding mechanisms for the academic sector as a whole, and for European University alliances in particular.

Europe is at a pivotal moment. European Universities alliances stand ready to co-create solutions, deepen collaboration, and contribute to a more competitive, innovative, and resilient Europe. We are encouraged by the strong support expressed for European Universities alliances and for deeper European cooperation.

For further information, please read the key messages from our discussion paper here.