Policy options

Addressing threats to academic freedom is highly relevant for the EU as a geopolitical union, its global competitiveness and collaboration in science, as well as for safeguarding Europe's values and way of life.

Tackling all issues identified in the study at the EU level is not feasible. Protecting academic freedom is the responsibility not only of the EU, but also of national public authorities, institutional leadership and the academic community at large. Consequently, the policy options proposed in this year's monitor have been made considering their potential relevance for possible EU-level legislation and non-legislative initiatives.

As the state of academic freedom in most of the EU continues to gradually erode, the EU seeks to address this erosion by strengthening the protection and promotion of academic freedom through initiatives such as the proposed European Research Area (ERA) act. However, the multifaceted nature of trends and the growing diversity across the EU Member States, whether in de facto or de jure academic freedom, pose additional challenges.

As regards education policies, the EU's formal competence is limited to a supplementary role that excludes the harmonisation of national legislation. However, to contribute to the protection of academic freedom, various channels for action are available to the EU. The EU therefore offers support measures in education and participates in intergovernmental processes, such as the Bologna Process and the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).

The 2024 Academic Freedom Monitor proposed seven policy options:

It can be argued that all these policy options remain relevant and therefore deserve careful consideration by policymakers. Nevertheless, the results of this year's monitoring study indicate emergent trends that necessitate new approaches and measures. Consequently, in addition to the policy options above, a set of novel policy options has been identified this year.

Additional policy options based on the 2025 report:

New policy option 1: Developing and implementing transparent and clear strategies and guidelines for responding to foreign interference and handling research security risks in international scientific collaboration

The legislative and regulatory environment for academia has changed in response to increased foreign interference in academia and research risks related to undesirable transfer of knowledge and technologies. However, these changes at national level differ significantly and have in turn led to divergent institutional approaches and practices across EU Member States. In this context, it is essential that the EU highlights the key priorities for managing and limiting foreign interference in European, national and institutional contexts within the EU, and that it promotes and supports good practice. For this purpose, a specialised expert body at European level could be established. To be effective, this expert body could be expected to interact and work closely with national expert bodies, such as the Dutch Contact Point for Knowledge Security and the German Centre for International Academic Cooperation (KIWi).

In addition to such a structure, a specialised knowledge security unit could be established within each academic institution for staff and students. This single point-of-contact arrangement would encompass the European, national and institutional levels. This would address the problem that academic staff, students, and their institutions generally lack the knowledge and insight needed to make informed decisions regarding foreign interference and research security risks, necessitating external guidance from the national authorities and the EU.

New policy option 2: Developing a European strategy for promoting Europe as a core region for protecting and promoting academic freedom

The declining respect for academic freedom in the US leaves Europe as the world's main science region actively promoting and protecting academic freedom. To continue, this requires a new European strategy. Such a strategy would facilitate the safeguarding of academic freedom within EU Member States against unwarranted interference from the US and other countries and demonstrate that Europe actively promotes and safeguards academic freedom in the context of international scientific collaboration. A potential element of this strategy might be the forming of a new strategic global alliance between the EU and countries that actively support and protect academic freedom in their science systems.

New policy option 3: Developing and implementing adequate measures to counter the impact of political polarisation on academic freedom

Political polarisation poses specific challenges for EU Member States' public authorities regarding the promotion and protection of fundamental European values within society at large and academia in particular. In many EU Member States, academic freedom is subject to pressure from direct or indirect political interference. This pressure has increased in countries experiencing political polarisation or even anti-science movements, where illiberal democratic governments have deprioritised higher education and academic research in their governmental programmes and budgets and/or openly discredited academic research and institutions. Consequently, strengthening the support for national government agencies, institutional leadership and management, and academic staff and student associations could be considered in addressing the potential negative impacts of political polarisation on academic freedom. This concerns both the 'post-illiberalism' context and the need to strengthen the institutional foundations of academic freedom under 'liberal democracy' regimes.