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On Monday, June 29, 2026, Martin Venhart, President of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS), participated in the international science-policy conference Towards the European Fifth Freedom and Global Competition: Voices from Science, held in Brussels. During the conference, he joined a panel discussion with Professor Maria Leptin, President of the European Research Council (ERC), as part of the session Towards an Impactful and Attractive FP10.

During the discussion, the SAS President firmly rejected any proposals to introduce positive discrimination in favour of researchers from the so-called Widening countries: EU Member States with comparatively lower success rates in ERC competitions. He stressed that weakening the ERC’s principle of excellence would undermine not only the Council’s credibility but also the reputations of outstanding researchers from these countries, including Slovakia.

“I firmly believe that Slovakia has outstanding scientists who are fully capable of competing with their colleagues across Europe at the highest level. What they need is stronger support at home, particularly through national programmes that foster top talent and through transparent funding schemes for excellent ERC proposals that meet the required quality standards but cannot be funded because of limited ERC resources,” said Martin Venhart.

The conference was organised by the European Research Council (ERC) and the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the oldest academy of sciences in Europe. Held at the ERC headquarters in Brussels, the event was held for the first time and co-organised by several European academies, including the Slovak Academy of Sciences.

The conference brought together leading European scientists and high-level policymakers, including Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation; Enrico Letta, an expert on European integration; and Maryna Viazovska, Fields Medal laureate.

The event concluded with the presentation of the Brussels Messages, a set of recommendations for shaping the 11th EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP10). The document, prepared with the participation of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, calls on European leaders to:

• recognise research and innovation as strategic assets for Europe;
• safeguard the independence of the European Research Council and its excellence-based evaluation system;
• maintain a strong and autonomous FP10 programme;
• reduce the administrative burden placed on researchers; and
• build a coherent European knowledge economy by implementing the European Fifth Freedom, ensuring the free movement of knowledge, talent and innovation.

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Prepared by: Jozef Bednár

Photo: Martin Venhart archive