Brussels, 26/01/2022 (Agence Europe) – Meeting in Paris on Tuesday 25 January, the European Ministers for Education and Research reaffirmed “their full support” for alliances such as European universities and recognised the need to go further, in particular by preparing “ a specific legal status” (see EUROPE 12871/5), to enable them to award European degrees, to jointly recruit the best researchers and students internationally, and to establish joint structures such as advanced laboratories, according to a press release from the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union. They committed themselves to working towards the removal of barriers faced by these alliances – as well as their sustainability – by exploiting the synergies between European, national and regional funding schemes. (MB)