EU heads of state and government are beginning their deliberations in Brussels on the European Union’s next financial framework for the years 2028 to 2034. The current draft allocates fewer funds to research and innovation than the European Parliament and the European Commission have proposed to date. At the same time, the European Commission is already planning significant cuts to the Horizon Europe funding programme for the 2027 budget.

Katharina Riedel is to become the new spokesperson for the Universities Member Group of the HRK. The microbiologist and Rector of the University of Greifswald was elected to succeedAnja Steinbeck in this role. In accordance with the HRK rules of procedure, Riedel will therefore also become a Vice-President of the HRK. The term of office for Riedel and the other members of the spokespersons’ board begins on 1 December 2026.

The HRK has criticised surprising comments made to the media by the Federal Minister of Research Dorothee Bär, which suggest that the fundamental reform of the German Federal Training Assistance Act (Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetz; BAföG) announced in the coalition agreement may be scrapped. Recent statements from the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag point in the same direction. Even the increase in the BAföG housing allowance, recently agreed upon by the governing parties and due to come into effect from the 2026/2027 winter semester, is therefore now in doubt.

HRK President Walter Rosenthal has issued the following initial response to the draft bill on the amendment of the Academic Fixed-Term Contract Act (Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz; WissZeitVG), which was made public on Thursday evening: “German universities expressly welcome the fact that the long-awaited draft bill on the WissZeitVG is now available. This represents a significant step forward for the amendment process initiated during the previous parliamentary term and which will hopefully be successfully concluded soon.”

At its most recent meeting in Weimar, the General Assembly of the HRK set out its position on the current challenges and requirements relating to security-related research and development at universities. In its resolution, it emphasises the vital contribution made by universities to the security and resilience of society and sets out areas where action is needed within universities, as well as recommendations for policymakers at both federal and state level.

In a joint statement, the HRK and its partner organisations from Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain call on their respective governments and the European Commission to significantly expand European cooperation in research and higher education. And they ask to allocate sufficient funding for this purpose in the next EU financial framework from 2028 onwards. According to the statement, the economic and geopolitical situation requires even stronger investment in research and education at European level than previously planned.