The ERA Act: unlocking the fifth freedom

Background

The EU is preparing to launch the European Research Area Act (ERA Act) in late 2026, aiming to establish a ‘fifth freedom’: the free movement of research, innovation and knowledge.

This initiative responds to global shifts and the need for stronger European competitiveness, and it seeks to reduce fragmentation in the EU’s research landscape, aiming to anchor research and innovation within the EU single market. 

By improving funding systems, researcher mobility and data sharing, the ERA Act aims to make Europe a leader in technological progress and knowledge-driven growth. It also highlights the evolving role of knowledge – shaped by AI and the digital transformation – and the importance of secure and ethical innovation.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) calls for structural reforms, better coordination and stronger intellectual property rules, while also warning of trade-offs, such as openness vs. strategic autonomy and innovation speed vs. ethical oversight.

The ERA Act has the potential to boost Europe’s resilience and global role through inclusive, knowledge-based policymaking. To succeed, it should ideally be supported with a EUR 220 billion budget in order to boost global competitiveness.

Key points:

In the opinion, the EESC:

• welcomes the European Commission’s ambition to establish a ‘fifth freedom’, which must include mechanisms to counter disinformation and pseudoscience, build trust in scientific institutions, and promote ‘knowledge literacy’;
• calls on the Commission to pursue measures and incentives addressing the challenges linked to scale-ups of firms, of cross-border mobility of people and accessibility of funds and investments;
• underlines the importance of a 3% GDP national spending target for research & innovation (R&I), asking for an additional 1% for preparedness and dual-use research. To initiate a breakthrough, the EESC calls for national R&I investments to be decoupled from deficit rules until the 3% spending target is met. In addition, other funds (e.g. cohesion) should be increasingly used and aligned with R&I activities.

Read the opinion.

Additional information

Section: Single Market, Production and Consumption

Opinion number: INT/1082

Opinion type: Own-initiative opinion

Rapporteur: Paul Rübig

Co-rapporteur: Stefano Palmieri

Reference: Rule 52(2) of the Rules of Procedure

Date of adoption by section: 26/6/2025

Result of the vote: 66 in favour/0 against/2 abstentions                                                   

Date of adoption in plenary: 17/07/2025

Result of the vote: in favour/ against/ abstentions

Contacts:

Press officer: Laura Lui          

Tel.: + 32 2 546 9189

Email:  laurairena.lui@eesc.europa.eu

Administrator: Jana Valant

Tel.: + 32 2 546 8924

Email: Jana.Valant@eesc.europa.eu