Germany's federal research minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger is calling for sweeping reforms at the Fraunhofer Society, one of Europe's most prestigious applied research organisations, after auditors found "numerous violations" of financial rules, including members of the executive board exceeding spending limits for hotel stays and hiring luxury cars.

Tomorrow's vote on the Windsor framework in the UK parliament marks a crucial step on the country's potential path to associating to Horizon Europe, the EU's €95.5 billion research and innovation programme. 

A transitional arrangement means researchers in New Zealand can apply for Horizon Europe grants as of now, even though Brussels and Wellington have yet to fix a budget following the agreement last December under which New Zealand became the first country to secure full association to the research programme.

China, the US and the EU's race to control their own scientific advances and cut out supply chain dependencies could lead to a "decoupling" of research activities at a time when collaboration to solve global issues is crucial, says a stark report by the OECD. 

Two new laws are intended to ensure a commitment to increase public and private investment in research will survive changes in government. The aim is for total spending to reach 4% of GDP by 2030

Opinion: European universities still face "far too many" restrictions on their autonomy, hindering them from realising their full potential, according to a recent comparative scorecard on university autonomy.

A year ago, Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine redefined geopolitics in a shockwave that is still reverberating through the science world. The EU research community was quick to cut ties with Russia and lend Ukraine a helping hand - but now it is grappling with resulting instability and uncertainty as the war climbs into its second year.

Marc Lemaître, the new chief of the EU's research directorate takes office today, he will apply his experience in Cohesion policy to promote greater coordination between research funding and regional development funding, increasing the impact of both.

Sweden kicked off a five-month push to deepen EU cooperation on research infrastructures and open data sharing, at an informal meeting of research ministers in Stockholm on Wednesday. The six-month Swedish presidency of the EU isn't introducing new topics to the table but homing in on two that have been discussed for years: research infrastructures and open science publishing.

Horizon Europe is heading into its third year, and the latest statistics offer a glimpse of how the EU is spending its €95.5 billion research funding pot.

In an effort to get its big-spending programmes working better together, the European Commission named Marc Lemaître, currently head of its regional development funding, to run its big research and innovation programme.

Switzerland's president has discussed Horizon Europe association and Erasmus+ membership with Commission president, as the two sides try to revive broader negotiations that could unlock talks about the research programme. 

The targeted research Missions set up under Horizon Europe are turning three years old this year, and their ambitious logic is facing its first test in an upcoming review at the midpoint of the EU's €95.9 billion research programme.

A network of academics are attempting to use a relatively new type of Horizon Europe funding to create grant calls open to both UK and EU applicants while the UK is not associated to Horizon Europe.

A new global organisation is trying to prevent dramatic advances in bioscience from unleashing engineered pathogens from the lab, and wants research funders, scientists and journals to help. The International Biosecurity and Biosafety Initiative for Science (IBBIS) warns that scientists might be able to order the DNA of dangerous pathogens like smallpox from unregulated companies, and wants much tighter screening of the industry.

Effective Altruism (EA), a movement of rationalist do-gooders that has been growing in size and influence for just over a decade, hit the headlines worldwide in 2022 - although not quite as its supporters hoped.

The EU is to pilot a new initiative that aims to improve working conditions for young researchers, starting in 2024. The pilot will test how the European Commission, member states and industry could work together to coordinate financing and knowledge networks and strengthen and diversify research career paths by promoting links between academia and industry.  

European research leaders have reacted with disappointment to Switzerland's expulsion from the body that coordinates scientific infrastructure across the continent.