Europe could be a ‘haven’ for US researchers, says ERC president

The EU’s research funding bodies are thinking of ways to welcome US scientists and European ex-patriots who might be looking for a more sympathetic place to work now that Donald Trump is in the White House. This mirrors discussions at the national level of possible “repatriation awards” and the expansion of programmes to attract American scientists.

At barely one month old, the new US administration has already put a dent in the freedom and integrity of research, from funding freezes to restricted transatlantic data transfer to censorship around climate change, gender and infectious diseases. Yann LeCun, chief AI scientist at Meta, Facebook’s parent company, went as far as saying on social media that “the US seems set on destroying its public research funding system,” and because of that, Europe “may have an opportunity to attract some of the best scientists in the world.” 

“We should all avoid saying ‘God, they are having a bad time over there, now let’s go and snatch them all back.’ We do not want to benefit from our colleagues’ misery,” said Maria Leptin, president of the European Research Council (ERC), at the European Parliament on February 19. She is, however, in favour of “presenting them with a haven.”

Matthias Johannsen, director of the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, agrees. “Europe has a responsibility to uphold academic freedom and provide a values-based safe haven for science as a global public good,” he told Science|Business.

But he also urged restraint. “We must strike a careful balance, welcoming researchers from around the world without unduly exploiting challenges faced by colleagues abroad in a competitive drive for talent,” he said.

Measures to help attract US-based researchers are also being considered by the European Commission. Ekaterina Zaharieva, the commissioner responsible for research and innovation, told the same meeting of MEPs that she was considering the creation of “a special passport” for science.

“In order to attract and retain talent in Europe, we have to look at the incentives and conditions for third country nationals,” she later told Science|Business. “The expression ‘passport’ was used to convey the idea of addressing the mobility of researchers in Europe.” This idea is now being discussed with her counterpart in charge of internal affairs and migration, Magnus Brunner, as part of a strategy on EU visa policy that the Commission will present later this year.

Although Zaharieva did not refer directly to the US political landscape, she suggested that “recent global developments” were “an opportunity for Europe to position itself as an attractive destination for top talent and research excellence.”

She is looking into the implementation of the Students and Researchers Directive and the Blue Card Directive to attract outstanding students and researchers from leading organisations in third countries and will examine “stronger support to member states and their consulates to ensure timely issuance of long-stay visas and residence permits,” she said.

Limited room to manoeuvre

Leptin is keen to support researchers willing to relocate to Europe, but she warned that the ERC’s capacity for action was limited. When the war in Ukraine started, the council contacted its grantees to encourage them to take in refugee researchers and support staff, and this is the type of “immediate emergency action” that it could implement again under certain circumstances. 

However, it is not within the scope of the ERC to set up a scheme that will create positions for researchers from the US, Leptin explained. “We have no power over that. We cannot employ people, so there’s very little we can do,” she added.

“Maybe a philosopher or a theoretical physicist just needs an office, but most researchers need a lot more. They need an infrastructure, they want to be embedded in the community. That’s something we can’t provide, but we can support it.”

Under its current programmes, the ERC can offer an additional €1 million to cover eligible “start-up” costs for researchers moving to the EU from a third country. The organisation is waiting for confirmation of the budget of Horizon Europe’s successor before possibly revising the size and number of its grants, including incentives to move to the EU.

Meanwhile, Michiel Scheffer, head of the European Innovation Council board, wrote on social media that “a concept” to welcome scientists from the US would be discussed at the board’s April meeting. Contacted by Science|Business, he said that he was unable to provide further details in advance of that discussion.

A spokesperson for the European Institute of Innovation and Technology reiterated the agency’s commitment to preventing a “brain drain” of researchers and entrepreneurs from Europe, but would not address ongoing pressures on US researchers.

In Germany, the Max Planck Society is considering its options after seeing a doubling in applications of US-based researchers to its research group leader programme. As reported by Der Spiegel, society president Patrick Cramer is looking into what top researchers in the US might need to come to Germany.

Asked if Europe should increase research in subjects cut back in the US, Leptin said that “we should do what’s good for Europe, regardless of whether a head of state elsewhere does what’s bad for their country.”

However, the ideal outcome would be a reversal of restrictions in the US. “What we must hope is that this is temporary posturing and that the community in the US will mobilise and explain to their representatives how badly it hurts all over the US,” she said.