Coimbra Group endorses ALLEA Statement on Threats to Academic Freedom in the US
07 March 2025
Academic freedom and institutional autonomy are universal, fundamental values that ought to be upheld everywhere in the world. With all of its member universities being signatories of the Magna Charta Universitatum, the Coimbra Group endorses the statement issued by ALLEA, the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, on “Threats to Academic Freedom and International Research Collaboration in the United States“ – as found below. We fully share the position and views expressed in this statement, and we extend our support to all those impacted.
ALLEA Statement
“The European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities expresses grave concern over the escalating threats to academic freedom, both in the United States and beyond. Recent developments regarding science and scholarship in the U.S., including executive orders freezing billions in federal research funding and censorship around topics such as climate change and gender, are forcing many U.S. science agencies and research organisations to abruptly suspend normal operations. Such censorship and political suppression of language, research topics, and methodologies – whether through funding restrictions, legislative control, or institutional interference – fundamentally compromise the integrity of scientific and scholarly endeavours not just in the U.S. but around the world due to the global nature of the research ecosystem.
Academic freedom is a fundamental pillar of democratic societies and essential for knowledge production and innovation worldwide. The open and collaborative nature of global research strongly depends on the ability of researchers and scientific institutions to operate free from undue political interference. ALLEA is deeply concerned that the actions of the U.S. administration could have far-reaching and devastating consequences for essential (global) research programmes, particularly in fields such as health, climate, gender, and the social sciences. These new restrictions also threaten the careers of the younger generation of scholars, engineers, and health professionals, and may cause lasting harm to the fundamental research that underpins most scientific breakthroughs, as well as efforts to secure a healthy, just, and safe world for all. For instance, restricting transatlantic data sharing jeopardises research on both sides of the Atlantic, putting at risk decades of collaboration that have led to groundbreaking discoveries. The long and fine tradition of data exchange between the U.S. and Europe has been instrumental in advancing scientific progress, and the new executive orders set back not just science but society as a whole.
We therefore encourage our members, partners, and like-minded organisations, and urge national governments and international institutions in the U.S., Europe and beyond to remain vigilant and strengthen ongoing efforts to safeguard academic freedom and the autonomy of scientific institutions, committing to actions and measures adopted through inter-institutional and supranational agreements in Europe and globally”.
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