European Research Area (ERA)
The European Research Area (ERA) aims to create an internal market for research, innovation and technology in the EU. The ERA promotes, among other things, the free movement of researchers and scientific knowledge, the development of EU and national research policies and funding, joint research infrastructures, open science and research ethics, and the utilisation of publicly funded research and citizen participation.
The ERA was launched in 2000, in the context of the Lisbon strategy. The ERA’s current objectives are set out in the Pact for Research and Innovation in Europe (2021 (PDF). Alongside this document, the Council adopted the ERA Policy Agenda 2022–2024 (PDF), which contains 20 actions for the development of the ERA.
The policy agenda for 2025–2027 was adopted in May 2025.
The Research Council of Finland participates in many ways in promoting the objectives of the ERA at both national and European level. The RCF has been and will continue to be actively involved in, among other things, maintaining and developing European research infrastructures, reforming research assessment, promoting open science and increasing research security. We carry out this work both internally and through national cooperation and European forums.
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