Universities should be consulted before the introduction of new Brussels legislation to ensure that it will not ¡°hinder¡± education and research activities, according to the European Universities Association.

In a published on 9 January, the EUA calls for the European Commission to introduce a ¡°university check¡± that would ¡°assess the impact of legislation on universities and their activities [in areas including] trade, migration, the digital transformation, rule of law or strategic autonomy¡±. Universities should be ¡°actively¡± involved in the check, the organisation says.

Titled A Renewed Social Contract for Europe and its Universities, the paper sets out a series of priorities for the rest of the decade ahead of upcoming European elections. Improved policy coordination, ¡°ambitious¡± budgets and the enshrining of academic freedom and ¡°open international cooperation¡± are among the goals presented. ?

Alongside the university check, another recommendation the document?makes is the establishment of earmarked funding for university leadership development, described as a ¡°crucial¡± move to ¡°support universities¡¯ institutional development and unleash their transformative potential¡±.

ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ

¡°I call on European policymakers to seize the next years as an opportunity to foster a long-term vision and governance for European university policies, provide sufficient and predictable funding and investment, and ensure rules that enable rather than restrict ¨C with due consideration for universities¡¯ institutional autonomy,¡± said EUA president Josep Garrell.

Speaking to?Times Higher Education, Thomas J?rgensen, the ·¡±«´¡¡¯²õ director of policy coordination and foresight, said compliance with EU regulations had become ¡°an increasingly big issue¡± for universities, prompting the EUA to propose the university check.

ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ

¡°You have all these rules that are not made for universities that impact them,¡± he said. ¡°There¡¯s an underestimation of how big the sector is and how important it is.¡±

¡°We¡¯ve seen this very much in the digital field at the European level,¡± Dr J?rgensen continued, citing as an example the recent Cyber Resilience Act, which sparked alarm over the obligations it would place on researchers developing and using open-source software. An exemption was ultimately introduced for free open-source software ¨C but, Dr J?rgensen said, the issue could have been avoided had universities been consulted in the drafting phase.

The check could be achieved by ¡°allocating resources within the [European] Commission¡±, he continued. ¡°I believe that the only pushback will be a resource question ¨C they¡¯ll say, ¡®Well, we don¡¯t have the resources to do that.¡¯ At the end of the day, I think it¡¯s much more efficient to do this in the drafting phase [in order to avoid] the whole back and forth and open letters and whatnot.¡±

Dr J?rgensen said that the EUA aimed to present ¡°big ticket items¡± for EU policymakers to take up after the elections. ¡°Our goal is [for European universities] to be independent actors,¡± he said, stressing that institutions were not a ¡°toolbox¡± for politicians to employ in service of specific societal needs.

ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ

The ¡°new social contract¡±?proposed by the policy paper, he explained, should be one that recognised universities as an ¡°equal partner¡± in the effort to solve global challenges, rather than ¡°an instrument to realise decisions made elsewhere¡±.

¡°Universities are part of the common effort, but they¡¯re not just a tool,¡± Dr J?rgensen stressed. ¡°They¡¯re an active part of that common effort.¡±

emily.dixon@timeshighereducation.com