The European Union has set out a €500 million package to make it “a magnet” for researchers - a move that comes at a time of turbulence for US scientists, who face cuts to research funding and jobs as part of the new administration’s efficiency drive.
“The investment in fundamental, free and open research is questioned. What a gigantic miscalculation,” said European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen as she announced the package.
“I believe that science holds the key to our future here in Europe. Without it, we simply cannot address today's global challenges – from health to new tech, from climate to oceans,” said von der Leyen.
Europe already has the second highest scientific output in the world and is home to over two million researchers – one quarter of the world's total - according to the European Union. “
"We lead in green tech, health, economics, business and social sciences. We excel in areas of scientific research and technologies that are pivotal to our future – from aerospace to robotics, from automotive to engineering, from biotechnologies to pharmaceuticals, just to name a few,” von der Leyen said. Europe runs the world's largest international research programme - Horizon Europe - with over €93bn in funding.
There are also plans to create a new seven-year 'super grant' under the European Research Council (ERC) “to help offer a longer-term perspective to the very best”, she added.
“Through the ERC, we are already supporting researchers who relocate to Europe with a top-up beyond their grant. We are now doubling the amount they can receive this year. And I want to extend this support for 2026 and 2027,” she said.
On top of this, France has earmarked an additional €100m under its France 2030 programme to attract foreign researchers.
And these aren’t the only initiatives launched recently to encourage scientists to move to Europe; in March the Dutch Research Council was given the task by ministers of setting up a programme to attract the best scientists to the Netherlands as soon as possible. Minister of Education, Culture and Science Eppo Bruins said at the time: “The world is changing. Tensions are on the rise. We are seeing an increase in the number of scientists looking for another place to continue their work. I want more top international scientists to do so here in the Netherlands.
Universities are also stepping up their offerings specifically to US researchers: for example the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) has allocated funding and a contact point for outstanding scholars looking to relocate to Brussels. “VUB also particularly welcomes excellent researchers currently working in the US which see their line of research threatened,” it said.
In April Aix-Marseille Université also unveiled its ‘Safe Place For Science’ program to attract researchers, which it said it had launched “in a context where some scientists in the United States may feel threatened or hindered in their research”.
Meanwhile in the UK the chair of the House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee Chi Onwurah, has written to the Science Minister, Lord Patrick Vallance, to call for the UK to do more to support and attract scientists looking to leave the US.
“If US scientists are looking for positions overseas, then there is clearly an opportunity here for the UK’s world-leading science sector. We can provide a sanctuary where researchers can continue to innovate and produce, standing up for the universal values of science and knowledge, whilst also filling critical skills gaps. It would be a win-win," she said.
“We should be in a good position to attract US talent: we speak the same language, have a brilliant university system, and excel in cutting-edge scientific research. Yet, it seems we’re in danger of falling behind other European countries in attracting this talent, particularly due to our extremely expensive visa system for global talent.
Three quarters of US scientists who responded to a recent poll by Nature said they would consider leaving, with many saying they were looking for jobs in Europe and Canada. However, it remains to be seen how many researchers will be willing to uproot themselves; salaries for researchers tend to be higher in the US. And von der Leyen acknowledged in her speech that there is still too much bureaucracy in Europe for researchers and that the path from fundamental research to business is “not straightforward or fast enough”.
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