Sponsors (4)
The bill improves U.S. ability to identify and coordinate responses to PRC-linked risks in European academia, at the cost of potential reputational damage and reduced collaborative research for European universities and their partners.
U.S. policymakers and federal/state agencies will get country-by-country assessments of PRC-linked risks at European universities, allowing more targeted diplomatic and security responses.
U.S. diplomatic engagement will be more coordinated because the bill provides specific bilateral and multilateral recommendations to mitigate risky relationships with foreign research institutions.
Congress and the public will gain greater transparency about foreign influence risks in academic research through an unclassified strategy (with an optional classified annex), improving oversight and accountability.
European universities, their students, and research partners may suffer reputational harm, reduced collaboration, or pressure to sever ties with PRC-linked entities, which could slow joint scientific progress and harm researchers.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires the State Department to produce a strategy and briefing within 180 days identifying European higher-education and research ties to specified PRC-linked entities and recommending mitigation steps.
Official title: To require the Secretary of State to develop a strategy to identify and mitigate relationships that pose a risk to United States foreign policy interests between certain European institutions and certain covered entities of concern, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 20, 2026 by Ronny Jackson · Last progress February 20, 2026
Requires the State Department to produce a strategy and brief Congress within 180 days identifying European higher-education and research institutions that have direct or indirect relationships with specified PRC-linked ‘‘covered entities of concern.’' The strategy must describe how the Department will identify, evaluate, and mitigate risky academic and research relationships, assess scale and activities by country, analyze national security threats and vulnerabilities, and offer bilateral and multilateral diplomatic recommendations; a classified annex may be included. The law defines who counts as a covered entity of concern (criteria tied to PRC military-civil fusion, defense industrial base ties, talent programs, campus influence, and foreign malign influence) and what qualifies as a covered European institution (European higher-education or research institutions). It creates a one-time reporting and strategy requirement but does not itself create new grant programs or appropriate funds.