EARPA Spring Meeting 2026 – Wrap Up

MARCH 10, 2026

EARPA Spring Meeting 2026 – Wrap Up

From 3 – 4 March 2026, EARPA (the European Association of Research Partners) held its Spring Meeting event at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Brussels.

The 2- day event attracted nearly 200 participants, which included EARPA Members and other professionals from the European road mobility and automotive sector.

Day 1: Foresight Groups and Collaborative Research Groups. Networking Reception. 

The first day of the event was dedicated to EARPA Members, including workshop sessions focused on upcoming EARPA position papers and collaboration opportunities for calls related to the Horizon Europe research and innovation framework programme.

*maybe add the CRG groups name and FG as well*

The evening reception on 3 March opened with a speech from Michele De Gennaro, the current EARPA President. Michele delivered an inspiring speech, underlining the essential role of collaborative automotive research in strengthening the European Union’s competitiveness.

The reception gathered EARPA members and relevant external actors from the automotive sector in Europe.

Day 2: EARPA General Assembly and Panel Discussions

Day 2 of the event kicked off with the General Assembly session. One of the highlights f the session was the announcement of next location of EARPA Spring Meeting 2027 – Barcelona. *should say thank you for all the applicants and exicited to work with the memebers for Barcelona?*

The afternoon panel discussions