For Yet Another Year of Excellent Research

This report explores the evolving challenges facing academic freedom and highlights the role of institutional autonomy, sustainable funding, research integrity, and supportive research environments in safeguarding it. It also identifies priorities for strengthening academic freedom across the European Research Area.

This report summarises the discussions from the fourth webinar in the NRFU–Science Europe Webinar Series 'Building Capacity in the Ukrainian Research and Innovation Ecosystem,' exploring ongoing developments in responsible research assessment and examining how evolving approaches to assessment can contribute to improving research quality, fostering positive research cultures, and recognising a broader range of research contributions and impacts.

By including environmental sustainability into the next Horizon Europe Framework Programme as an integral priority, the programme can help strengthen the resilience, efficiency, and competitiveness of European R&I systems.

This Annual Report provides an overview of the progress and achievements of Science Europe across the research policy topics that it worked on in 2025, including FP10 development, research culture, trust in science, research security, Artificial Intelligence, research assessment, environmental sustainability, inclusion, and open access.

Science Europe has joined a coalition of European research and innovation organisations in publishing a joint statement MSCA: Research Talent is Europe's Strategic Advantage.