Unite! president discusses the roll-out of European Universities with the EC
Tanja Brühl met the European Commission and stressed the importance of targeted funding for European Universities.
2021/06/18
Following up on a letter to EU Commissioner Mariya Gabriel on the future funding of European Universities Alliances, Tanja Brühl, President of Unite!, together with representatives of other 23 European Universities alliances met with Adrienn Király, Head of Cabinet of Commissioner Gabriel on 15 June 2021 for an open discussion on the full roll-out of European Universities.
Professor Tanja Brühl introduced the main points of the letter. She stressed the need of targeted funding. “Funding should be granted on a competitive basis, following principles of quality, excellence, and impact. I strongly believe that the level of involvement, commitment, and integration of the partners is of utmost importance to realize the transformative potential of European Universities. It is not the size of our alliances that determines our impact, but the quality of our collaboration.”
The European university alliances were happy to note that the Cabinet of Commissioner Mariya Gabriel took the comments of the alliances regarding the exact funding model seriously and will discuss those aspects further.
Background
The European Council adopted conclusions on the European Universities initiative on May 17, 2021. The initiative, launched by EU leaders in 2017, will be fully rolled out during the EU's 2021-2027 financing period.
With their conclusions, ministers encourage member states and the Commission to make sure that the initiative remains central to building a European Education Area by 2025, inspiring the transformation of higher education in the EU and helping to achieve the ambitious vision of an innovative, globally competitive, and attractive European Education and Research Area.
