ERRIN Autumn General Meeting 2025: reflecting on a year of growth and shared priorities for the year to come

ERRIN Autumn General Meeting 2025: reflecting on a year of policy engagement and shared priorities for the year to come

On 10 December, ERRIN members gathered in Brussels for the network’s Autumn General Meeting, kindly hosted by Scotland Europa at Scotland House. The meeting provided an opportunity to reflect on a year marked by network growth, increased policy engagement and evolving EU priorities, while looking ahead to 2026 and the post-2027 R&I landscape.

The meeting was chaired by Sarah English, ERRIN Management Board Co-Chair and Head of Office at Scotland Europa, who guided members through the formal proceedings and opened the discussion.

Network updates and member insights

Pirita Lindholm, ERRIN Director, together with the ERRIN Secretariat team, presented a comprehensive overview of the network’s highlights in 2025, starting with an update on membership development. ERRIN welcomed 12 new members in 2025, including several organisations from Central and Eastern Europe, further strengthening the diversity and geographical balance of the network.

Pirita then presented the results of the 2025 Annual Member Survey, which gathered 57 responses from 17 countries. Overall, the priorities outlined by members were strongly aligned with ERRIN’s focus areas. The survey confirmed several important trends in the network:

  • A wide diversity of stakeholders involved in ERRIN activities across regions.
  • Strong use of the Project Development Tool, with at least three-quarters of members actively using it and very positive feedback on its combination with targeted project development sessions.
  • Clear continued interest in the MFF post-2027, with Horizon Europe and the future Competitiveness Fund identified as key programmes to follow closely.
  • Strong appreciation for the Competitiveness Workstream, launched in 2025 and set to be further developed in 2026.
  • Growing interest in security, resilience and preparedness, with discussions ahead on how to better integrate these topics into ERRIN’s work.
  • Very strong involvement in the EU Missions, with around 80 percent of members benefiting from Mission-related projects and support mechanisms, and broad support for maintaining the Missions beyond 2030.

A strong year of policy engagement towards the next MFF

A key focus of ERRIN’s work in 2025 has been advocating for a stronger place-based dimension of the MFF post-2027. Pirita gave a short snapshot of key moments during the year starting with the high-level meeting with Members of European Parliament organised in January, which strengthened ERRIN’s presence in European Parliament discussions.

The completion of ERRIN’s FP10 paper series was another major milestone. The papers were launched in connection with high-level events, including the launch of the paper on Connected regional innovation ecosystems during the Regional Innovation Valleys matchmaking event in April 2025. The final paper on European Partnerships was highlighted at the European Partnership Forum, providing strong visibility for ERRIN’s key messages.

In June, a delegation of ERRIN Management Board members joined Pirita in a meeting with Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva to share ERRIN’s key messages on the next MFF. 

ERRIN has also been actively working on the network priorities on widening and deepening engagement and the EU Missions, including participation in the task force launched by MEP Eszter Lakos and contributions to EU-level Mission discussions.

New projects launched in 2025 and more in the pipeline for 2026

Astrid Hannes, ERRIN Head of Projects, presented the network’s growing project portfolio, with seven projects launched in 2025:

She also highlighted ERRIN’s current project pipeline for 2026, covering themes from EU Missions to resilience in cultural heritage.

Management Board elections

During the formal business of the meeting, Ewa Chomicz, Policy and Engagement Manager, guided members through the confirmation of Management Board nominations. ERRIN thanked the outgoing Board members Alexandra Schafhauser (Region Västra Götaland) and Olivia de Lasteyrie (Île-de-France Europe) for their valuable contributions.

Members then approved the election of three Management Board members:

  • Michael Johnsson, Region Skåne
  • Cécile Combette-Murin, Région Normandie
  • Anthony van de Ven, Brainport Eindhoven (re-election)

Keynote reflections and closing

The meeting concluded with a keynote by Alison Hunter, Senior Adviser on sustainable regional policy and innovation, who reflected on the growing security and defence agenda, dual-use innovation and the risk of regions being sidelined in this emerging policy space. Her intervention provided valuable food for thought for the networking discussions that followed.

ERRIN warmly thanks Scotland Europa for hosting the meeting and all members for their active engagement throughout 2025, as the network continues to strengthen the role of regional stakeholders in EU research and innovation policy.