Germany could spend part of its €500B stimulus package attracting US scientists

Germany could spend some of its €500 billion infrastructure and climate package attracting US scientists, according to a leading figure in its incoming government. Meanwhile, the country is pondering if and how it could poach disaffected researchers.

Lars Klingbeil, chair of the Social Democratic Party, which is set to be a junior partner in a governing coalition with conservative Union parties, said this week that the historic debt deal could be used for science and research. 

Speaking to German media, he pointed to crackdowns on scientific freedom in the US and states such as Turkey. "Germany must therefore proactively say to the affected researchers in the USA and elsewhere: come to Germany, here is a safe haven for you and science,” Klingbeil said. 

The €500 billion package, passed last month by the outgoing parliament, is technically set aside for infrastructure and climate neutrality projects, a sop to the Green Party in return for helping vote it through. It also practically did away with debt limits for defence and civil security spending. 

But Klingbeil, who is expected to become finance minister when the new government is voted in next month, said it could also be used to better equip universities and fund research programmes. The debt deal also loosened spending rules for federal states, which help fund universities. 

His comments come after widespread speculation in Europe that the continent could profit from a brain drain after Donald Trump’s new administration launched wide-ranging cuts to the science system. 

Trump’s government has cut back on grants at the National Institutes of Health, particularly in areas such as transgender and ethnic minority health, and laid off employees. It is also planning cuts of around 40% to the agency’s budget, although this must pass through Congress.

The administration is also trying to foist its ideology on universities. Harvard has been threatened with a loss of federal funds unless it appoints a “critical mass” of new academics and students to ensure “viewpoint diversity,” a demand the university has rejected. Several other universities are also  threatened with a federal funding freeze. 

There is some early evidence that hint these moves could trigger a transatlantic brain drain. Applications from the US to European academic job postings were up 32% in March compared to the previous year, according to an analysis this week by Nature. Meanwhile, applications to the US from Europe were down by 41%. 

1,000 heads

While France has arguably taken the lead in trying to lure US academics, Germany has designs too. The incoming government’s plan outlines a “1,000 heads” programme to attract international scientific talent. It also promises a smoother visa process for international academics and students.

“In times of global polarisation, we are maintaining Germany as an attractive destination and safe haven of academic freedom for researchers from all over the world,” the plan says, although it stops short of explicitly mentioning the US or Trump. 

The new government will also protect scientific databases “whose existence is under threat.” Under Trump, a number of government datasets, primarily relating to health, have gone offline, although some have since been reinstated. 

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There is no detail as yet on exactly what form the 1,000 heads programme will take, said a spokesman for the Helmholotz Association, a body of research institutes. Currently, science organisations are discussing what the programme might look like.  

German universities will need to offer higher salaries and better equipped labs to compete with US counterparts, some experts have warned. 

But some in Germany are critical of this push to attract US scientists, or at least what they see as the opportunistic tone of the discussion. 

Joybrato Mukherjee, president of the German Academic Exchange Service, has warned against a “confrontational” poaching attempt, which could damage transatlantic research links. The most important priority is to keep contact between European and US academics open, he said earlier this month. 

Germany’s main priority should be to support US scientists and academic institutions as they come under pressure from the Trump administration, said Katrin Böhning-Gaese, scientific director of the Helmoltz Centre for Environmental Research. 

“We are therefore not actively trying to poach US scientists at the moment,” she told the German media this week. 

Coalition agreement

Aside from the 1,000 heads programme, the incoming government’s coalition agreement contains several new positions on German – and European – science. 

In the ongoing battle in Brussels over FP10, the research Framework Programme that will start in 2028, the new Berlin government backs an “independent, strong” programme as well as an “independent” European Research Council (ERC).

There have been fears that both are at risk if FP10 were to be incorporated in a new EU Competitiveness Fund. 

The coalition agreement states that  the EU needs more of a focus on education, research, innovation and key technologies like artificial intelligence and space if it is to secure technological sovereignty. 

The incoming government also says it supports a European capital markets union, widely seen as key to allowing European start-ups to scale up their businesses without having to decamp to the US. 

The Erasmus+ mobility programme should be strengthened, the coalition document says. It also urges the EU to simplify processes at Important Projects of Common European Interest, pan-European projects focusing on areas such as hydrogen, for example. 

As for German research, the new coalition is promising better working and career conditions for academics, less bureaucracy for researchers, and more women in science leadership positions. 

It wants a focus on six key technology areas: AI, quantum technologies, microelectronics, biotechnology, fusion power and climate neutral transport. Germany should host the world’s first fusion reactor, the plan states.