Together for responsible, open and secure research and innovation

Around 500 policymakers, experts and practitioners from all over Europe and international partner countries gathered from 28 till 30 October 2025 in Brussels for the first European Flagship Conference on Research Security. 

Participants took part in a host of panel sessions with over 100 speakers spread over the course of the three conference days. Both during and in-between sessions, the event took place in a particularly vibrant and engaged atmosphere, showing that there is clear willingness to get involved in peer learning.

From the Commission side, there was a keynote speech by Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva, and several contributions from Deputy Director-General Signe Ratso. 

In her keynote address, Commissioner Zaharieva stressed that since the adoption of the Council Recommendation on enhancing research security, one and a half years ago, many Member States have taken significant steps to raise awareness and build resilience, but that more action is needed. 

She then announced that the Commission is considering adding research security in the ERA Act next to the freedom of scientific research (public consultation ongoing) and mentioned other initiatives, such as the establishment of a European Centre of Expertise on Research Security, the creation of a Due Diligence Platform as well as the development of a resilience testing methodology.  A news alert has been published.

Conference discussions underscored that openness and international collaboration are fundamental to excellence in research and innovation. At the same time, international cooperation exposes research and innovation to serious security risks in a rapidly evolving geopolitical landscape. It is therefore important that international research and innovation take place in a responsible way that is both open and secure, and with full respect of academic freedom

EU approach to research security

From the debates at the conference, it can be concluded that the EU’s approach to research security – which is based on academic freedom and self-governance in combination with support from public authorities – clearly resonates with the sector and the Member States. 

There is a strong wish for more peer learning, training opportunities and capacity building opportunities and there is a need for more clarity and guidance. 

EU initiatives such as the establishment of a European Centre of Expertise and a Due Diligence platform are therefore timely and meet a clear demand. 

Also, there is clear scope to actively engage with the EU on this topic, both bilaterally with international partners such as Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea and the UK as well as with multilateral for a, notably OECD, G7 and NATO. 
As this was the first edition of a biennial conference, the next edition is foreseen for Autumn 2027. 

Highlights of the conference 

• A high-level panel discussion with leaders of the co-organising stakeholders, including Sir Peter Mathieson (LERU), Orla Feely (Cesaer), Ferdi Schüth (G6) and Maarten Tossings (EARTO and EECARO)
   
• Inspirational talks by Věra Jourová (pro-rector Charles University, Czechia) and Robbert Dijkgraaf (president-elect International Research Council)
   
• A panel discussion on due diligence (‘what you need to know about your partner’) with eminent speakers from the U.S. (Glenn Tiffert, Stanford University) and Kevin Gamache, Texas A&M University System), Australia (Brendan Walker-Munro, Southern Cross University) and the Netherlands (Irna van der Molen, University of Twente) as well as Deputy Director-General Signe Ratso.
   
• A video message from MEP Christian Ehler, chair of the European Parliament’s Panel for the Future of Science & Technology (STOA).
   
• A panel on the role of intelligence, with intelligence agencies from Germany, Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands as well as the Single Intelligence Analysis Capacity (SIAC) of the European External Action Service.

More information

The event was co-organised by the European Commission and the European research and innovation sector, through a collaboration with 12 European stakeholder associations: ALLEA, CESAER, Coimbra Group, EARTO, EECARO, EUA, EU-LIFE, G6, LERU, Science Europe, The Guild and YERUN who all prepared their own parallel sessions. 

The unique collaborative approach to the organisation of the event clearly contributed to its success: all parties involved were committed and ensured that debates focused on the issues that matter most. 

In addition, 15 countries (both EU and non-EU) and 3 international fora (OECD, G7 and NATO) presented their approaches to research security. In this way, the programme of the Flagship Conference offered a particularly rich snapshot of the breadth and depth of the current debate as well as the state of play when it comes to raising awareness and building resilience across the entire research and innovation ecosystem in Europe and beyond.

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