The next European Union (EU) framework for research funding, which will start in 2014, must adopt simpler scientific and financial reporting processes, says a group of EU universities. In a report out on 14 March, the League of European Research Universities (LERU) in Leuven, Belgium, said that current rules — which require researchers to provide detailed time sheets and financial audits — should be streamlined. Researchers in countries with good accounting practices should be permitted to use those systems. Katrien Maes, LERU chief policy officer, says that the European Commission has been receptive to the recommendations.