eLTER ERIC Step-1 Application submitted – a crucial milestone on the path to the eLTER ERIC

In the culmination of a busy spring and summer, eLTER has recently completed a crucial milestone to becoming an ERIC, namely the submission of the Step-1 Application to the European Commission.

A European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) is a legal vehicle established under the EC “ERIC Regulation” (No. 723/2009). It provides a unified legal framework enabling European research infrastructures to operate across borders without the need for complex intergovernmental treaty negotiations. The regulation addresses the long-standing challenge of establishing pan-European and/or international entities for research collaboration by offering a legal structure recognised by all EU Member States, and allowing its members (countries) to tailor governance, objectives, rights and obligations. In 2021 the eLTER Interim Council chose the option of formalising the eLTER Research Infrastructure as an ERIC because of the long-term sustainability of this option.

Photo by: Corentin Béchade, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

ERIC establishment is carried out in two steps to ensure that all members need to complete the signature process only once, even if modifications of the ERIC documents become necessary. In the first step, the application documents submitted to the European Commission include a formal request to the Commission by the ERIC’s host country (in eLTER’s case Germany) for the establishment of an ERIC, the RI’s draft Statutes, and a technical and scientific description of the research infrastructure. In addition to the host country, two other member countries must sign the Step-1 Application to indicate community support for the ERIC.

The Reichstag on Platz der Republik in Berlin - the seat of the German Bundestag. Photo credit 

eLTER’s Step-1 Application was submitted on 24th July 2025 via the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) and the Permanent Representation of Germany to the EU in Brussels – a crucial milestone in eLTER’s journey to becoming an ERIC. The European Commission is currently reviewing the application and may request modifications. Once these are addressed, the final request for the establishment of the eLTER ERIC, signed by all future members and observers (Step-2 application) can be submitted - hopefully early in 2026. The corresponding decision by the European Commission will be published in the Official Journal of the EU.

eLTER wishes to thank the German BMFTR for facilitating the submission, its Interim Council members for their engaged and thoughtful support of the process, and all its countless supporters in eLTER’s current and future member countries and networks. We look forward to receiving the Commission’s feedback and to tackling the next steps towards a speedy establishment of the eLTER ERIC.