Opinion piece: EU’s peace project threatened by outdated research policy
Current research policy within the EU peace project excludes funding for technologies that can be used both for civilian and military purposes. However, the framework program was developed before the war in Ukraine and the rise of AI. Today’s technologies are cross-sectoral. Therefore, the expert group Esir proposes in a new report that the European Commission should change course, writes Sylvia Schwaag Serger, President of IVA and lead author of the report, in DN Debatt on July 6, 2025.
The EU’s current framework programme for research and innovation, Horizon Europe, currently excludes funding for research with so-called dual-use potential – technologies that can be applied in both civilian and military contexts. This poses a barrier to innovation and security at a time when technological development in areas such as AI, biotechnology, and quantum technology is advancing rapidly and often has applications in both sectors.
The article proposes several concrete measures:
- To include research with dual-use potential in the next framework programme.
- To coordinate research efforts with the European Defence Fund.
- To introduce the principle “as open as possible, as secure as necessary.”
- To promote technology transfer between civilian and military sectors.
- To create incentives for researchers to identify dual-use aspects in their work.
- To ensure ethics and transparency through independent review and public dialogue.
This does not imply a militarisation of research, but rather a smarter use of resources that strengthens the EU’s competitiveness, security, and sustainability in an increasingly uncertain world.
Sylvia Schwaag Serger, Professor at the Department of Economic History at Lund University, President of The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA), and lead author of the report.
Read the full op-ed, published in Dagens Nyheter on July 6, 2025, here (in swedish).