The European Commission has outlined a package to strengthen research security across the Union, signalling a move from guidance to binding obligations by pledging to embed research-security provisions in the forthcoming European Research Area (ERA) Act proposal.
European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, Ekaterina Zaharieva, announced the plan at the inaugural European Flagship Conference on Research Security in Brussels.
The three-day conference gathered around 500 policymakers, experts and practitioners from EU Member States and partner countries. Co-organised with 12 research and innovation stakeholder associations, the event is intended to align policy with sector practice and to build a pan-European community of practice around risk management in international cooperation.
According to the Commission, research security will for the first time be anchored in primary EU research legislation via the ERA Act proposal. The initiative follows the Commission’s decision to table an ERA Act and open a public consultation this month. The consultation runs through early January, informing a draft the Commission intends to advance as part of its wider ERA agenda.
Operationally, the Commission highlighted three new tools. First, a European Centre of Expertise on Research Security will be established inside the Commission to pool analysis, guidance and training, and to support Member State authorities and research-performing organisations. Second, a due-diligence platform will help researchers and institutions assess risks in international cooperation, including counterparty screening and compliance with EU and national measures. Third, a common methodology will allow Member States to test the resilience of universities and research institutes and benchmark improvements over time.
These steps build on a series of measures adopted since 2023 under the EU’s economic-security agenda. In January 2024, the Commission presented an Economic Security Package that, among other items, proposed setting up a research-security expertise centre and laid out practical safeguarding measures for Member States and funders. In May 2024, the Council adopted a Recommendation on enhancing research security, providing common principles to address risks arising in international research and innovation collaboration, including unwanted knowledge transfer, foreign interference and integrity breaches. While non-binding, the Recommendation sets expectations for national authorities, funding bodies and research performers to implement proportionate, risk-based controls.
The policy trajectory has continued in 2025. Research security is listed as a priority in the ERA policy agenda for 2025–27, and the Commission has launched a public consultation on the ERA Act to convert elements of the voluntary ERA framework into enforceable obligations. Sector analyses note that the ERA Act is designed to create a functioning single market for research by making certain measures legally binding rather than purely aspirational.
External experts have underlined the implications for export controls and due diligence in academia. A recent brief from SIPRI describes the EU’s research-security initiative as part of a broader trend among advanced economies to prevent misuse of sensitive dual-use technologies and to protect open research from hostile interference, while preserving proportionate openness.
Monitoring and reporting are expected to feature in the implementation phase. The Commission has flagged work on a Research Security Monitor, while the ERA monitoring framework — including the ERA Dashboard and Scoreboard — offers a mechanism to track Member State progress against agreed priorities. Further technical workshops are planned to trial the resilience-testing methodology and to pilot elements of the due-diligence platform with volunteer institutions.
Commissioner Zaharieva told delegates that safeguarding Europe’s open research model requires a risk-based approach: measures should be proportionate, country-agnostic and focused on specific risks in projects, partnerships and infrastructures. The Commission’s intention, she said, is to provide clarity and tools rather than to restrict legitimate international cooperation. With research-security provisions slated for the ERA Act, national authorities would set frameworks and coordinate with Brussels; funders would apply safeguards in calls and grant agreements; and universities and research organisations would integrate due diligence into partnership decisions and data governance.
