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Strategic autonomy and European economic and research security

Strategy, balancing openness of Horizon Europe with safeguarding EU interests, measures to mitigate foreign interference. 

Research Security

Research security is one of the key elements in a wider framework of Economic Security, which aims to safeguard Europe’s strategic assets and interests amid evolving global challenges while preserving openness and innovation.

Openness, international cooperation, and academic freedom are at the core of Europe’s world-class research and innovation. With growing international tensions researchers and academics are increasingly confronted with risks when cooperating internationally.

European research and innovation efforts are increasingly exposed to a number of risks such as malign influence and misuse impacting security and ethical norms. It is therefore vital that researchers are supported and empowered to address research security risks. Targeted safeguarding measures are needed to keep international cooperation open and secure.

In May 2024, the Council adopted its Council Recommendation on Enhancing Research Security. It provides the Union with a sound basis for addressing risks related to international R&I cooperation in today’s world.

It recommends national authorities to develop research security policies, national funders to put in place robust safeguards and the research performers (such as universities) to introduce risk management processes, reflecting the principle that with academic freedom comes academic responsibility.

Public authorities are encouraged to support the research sector and empower researchers to make informed decisions about international cooperation.

To this end, research security is included as a priority action in the European Research Area (ERA) policy agenda 2025-27, as adopted by the Council in June 2025.

Measures to support Member States and stakeholders

While national governments are best placed to reach out to their universities and other research performing organisations and support them in taking the necessary measures, EU-level cooperation and coordination facilitates peer learning and promotes consistency of approach across the Union.

For peer learning purposes, the European Commission has published a Research Security Monitor in February 2026 that outlines developments in each Member State. It provides examples of policies and practices applied by national authorities, research funding agencies and research performing organisations. 

Published in 2022, the toolkit to mitigate foreign interference in research and innovation, co-created with the Member States, laid groundwork for further developments in research security. It outlines practices to support higher education institutions and research performing organisations in safeguarding their fundamental values and research assets.

In addition, work is underway to establish a European Centre of Expertise on Research Security to invest in the evidence base for policymaking and create a community of practice across the EU.

To support universities in choosing their international partners, the Commission is also developing a due diligence platform.

Factsheet: Research Security: Building blocks for risk appraisal

Research security in Horizon Europe

The Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, Horizon Europe, is designed to be as open as possible and as closed as necessary. The openness of the work programme to international cooperation is balanced with the need to safeguard EU interests in strategic areas, in particular to promote the EU’s strategic autonomy and its technological leadership and competitiveness. The Horizon Europe safeguards toolbox includes:

  • Article 22.5 of the Horizon Europe regulation:  In a limited number of cases, for actions related to Union strategic assets, interests, autonomy or security, actions can be limited to cooperation between legal entities established in Member States only, Member States and (certain) Associated Countries, and/or certain third countries (‘eligible countries’).
    Furthermore, for duly justified and exceptional reasons, the work programme may also exclude the participation of legal entities, established in eligible countries or other third countries that are directly or indirectly controlled by non-eligible third countries or by legal entities of non-eligible third countries from individual calls for proposals, or make their participation subject to conditions set out in the work programme.
  • Article 22.6 of the Horizon Europe regulation: where appropriate and duly justified additional eligibility criteria may be inserted in a work programme, to take into account specific policy requirements or the nature and objectives of the action, including the number of legal entities, the type of legal entity and the place of establishment.
  • Article 40 of the Horizon Europe regulation: describes the rules around transfer and licencing of results, including the right, where justified, for the Commission or the relevant funding body to object to transfers of ownership of results, or to granting of an exclusive licence regarding results.
  • Security appraisal: Guidance designed to provide applicants and beneficiaries of EU projects with an overview of the additional procedures to follow if a project involves security sensitive or classified information.
  • Ethics screening: Guidance for applicants and beneficiaries of EU projects to ensure ethics compliance.

Research security within the broader framework of the European Economic Security Strategy

The European Economic Security Strategy sets out a framework for a robust assessment and management of risks to economic security at EU, national and business level while preserving and increasing our economic dynamism.

Achieving this requires

  1. promoting our own competitiveness
  2. protecting ourselves from economic security risks
  3. partnering with the broadest possible range of countries who share our concerns or interests on economic security

It recognises that the openness of our system is the ‘bedrock for our innovative economies’, but that the EU needs a comprehensive strategic approach to economic security, de-risking and promoting its technological edge in critical sectors. It identifies ‘risks related to technology security and technology leakage’ as one of four main categories of risks.

The Joint Communication on "Strengthening EU Economic Security" in 2025 highlights an integrated and proactive approach to safeguarding essential technologies and infrastructures. It places emphasis on research security, identifying Horizon Europe safeguards, the Centre of Expertise on Research Security and the due diligence platform as central tools in promoting research security and increasing the research community’s resilience.

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