Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu, in a written answer on 3 July 2026, defended the European Commission's commitment to making EU research fund disbursements conditional on fair employment standards, while stopping short of declaring Italy's National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) in breach of EU law. The answer came in response to a parliamentary question from seven S&D MEPs led by Nicola Zingaretti, who warned that 37% of INAF staff are on fixed-term contracts and that over 100 researchers trained with EU funds risk leaving by year-end due to insufficient permanent recruitment funding.
Mînzatu noted that Directive 1999/70/EC does not set sector-specific limits on fixed-term contracts but requires Member States to prevent misuse of successive fixed-term contracts, a principle the Commission monitors with reference to Court of Justice case law. She pointed to Italy's National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which includes reforms to enhance research funding stability as a prerequisite for instalments, and to Horizon Europe's requirements that beneficiaries implement the European Charter for Researchers. The answer also referenced a Mutual Learning Exercise on research careers and the 2023 Council Recommendation on attracting research talents, which recommends countering precarity.
While the Commission did not announce new enforcement measures specific to INAF, Mînzatu stressed that for shared-management funds like the European Social Fund plus, the Commission verifies that managing authorities ensure projects align with programme objectives. The answer signals that the Commission views existing frameworks—RRP conditionality, Horizon Europe grant agreements, and monitoring mechanisms—as sufficient tools to address precarious employment in research, rather than pursuing direct infringement action. The S&D MEPs had also asked whether future research disbursements would be made conditional on fair employment standards under the European Pillar of Social Rights, a principle Mînzatu explicitly endorsed.