Ministers and representatives from all EUI member states, together with European institutional and academic leaders, met in Florence on 7 May 2026 for a high-level Ministerial Summit marking the EUI’s 50th anniversary. Romania, holding the Presidency of the EUI High Council, led the summit as part of the celebrations taking place at the Institute from 7–9 May.
The Summit marked both a milestone and a turning point. Participants assessed how the EUI has supported a robust Europe through knowledge generation and evidence-based debate and examined how it should evolve over the next 50 years as both a research university and an intergovernmental organisation. They also addressed Europe’s higher education and research systems at a time of geopolitical disruption, democratic backsliding, environmental crisis, and rapid technological change.
The discussions built on a process launched in 2024 that brought together academics, public authorities, and civil society. They also served as the official launch of a European debate on the future role of universities.
Remus Pricopie, Chair of the High Council, and Patrizia Nanz, President of the EUI, opened the summit, while Roxana Mînzatu, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, delivered the opening address. A discussion paper guided ministers’ interventions and set out three priorities: a new social compact for universities; a genuinely integrated European higher education and research space; an integrity-driven governance to reward quality and build public trust.
Summit participants approved the 'Florence Declaration on Universities and Europe’s Future', with the following main points:
- renewing support to the EUI, commending the Institute for five decades of excellence, and recognising its success in fulfilling its mission to contribute to the development of Europe’s cultural and scientific heritage;
- reaffirming the bond between Europe’s universities and the societies they serve;
- launching a European debate on the role of universities for Europe’s future, inviting governments, European institutions, academia, the private sector, and society at large to engage in this reflection.
The declaration reaffirmed the EUI’s role as a bridge between academia, Member States, and EU institutions and set the stage for its contribution to the 2027 Ministerial Conference of the European Higher Education Area (Bologna Process), to be held in Iași and Chișinău in May 2027, co-hosted by the Republic of Moldova and Romania.