Defence research is one of the most current and, at the same time, most controversial issues within the European academic landscape. The rise in geopolitical tensions and conflicts on the European Union's doorstep has highlighted the need for the continent's universities to take a stance on this issue, which has ethical, legal and scientific implications. Against this backdrop, the League of European Research Universities (LERU) has recently published two documents containing recommendations for universities and EU institutions.
On the one hand, the LERU has developed a conceptual framework to help research-intensive universities, such as the University of Barcelona, address all issues relating to security and defence research. The document, Defence Research in European Universities: A Conceptual Framework , sets out recommendations for analysing this issue transparently, in accordance with university values and academic governance. Kurt Deketelaere, Secretary-General of the LERU, notes: "This is how the LERU adds value: not by telling members what to do, but by providing them with conceptual tools to make appropriate decisions. The different approaches within the LERU are a strength, and this framework helps us to work with this diversity."
Furthermore, the network has published the document in which it calls for "protective measures, legal clarity and balanced governance" in relation to what is known as dual-use research, that is, research that may have both civilian and military applications. Specifically, the LERU makes a series of recommendations regarding the inclusion of this type of research within the future framework programme for research and innovation, such as keeping research with primarily military purposes out of the framework programme, prioritizing basic research, and ensuring that researchers are not pressured to include military applications in their proposals in order to gain a competitive edge, among others.
