Initiative to help attract research talent, currently being piloted, will be extended in 2027 with double the budget, draft plans show
The EU wants to attract more researchers like Anne-Marie Jeannet, an American sociologist in Italy. Photo credits: Fred Guerdin / European Union
The European Commission plans to launch a €51.25 million call in 2027 as part of the Choose Europe initiative, which is intended to make the continent a more attractive place to pursue a career in research.
The Commission launched a €22.5 million pilot call in October, which will close on December 3, but a draft 2026-27 work programme for the Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions (MSCA), Horizon Europe’s researcher training scheme, has revealed plans to extend the support.
The Choose Europe initiative, announced with great pomp earlier this year, aims to tackle brain drain and the precarity of research careers by co-funding the recruitment of postdoctoral researchers for up to five years.
EU funding will cover the positions for two to three years, while the host institutions must provide funding for an additional two years. Each programme that receives funding must recruit a minimum of three researchers.
While the research community welcomed the initial pilot, there have been concerns that national cuts to research budgets in several EU countries could make it difficult for research organisations to cough up their share of the money.
The draft call offers universities more flexibility by allowing the EU funding to cover either the first or second phase of the programme, although the basic issue remains.
Attracting foreign talent
A key priority is to attract international talent to Europe, particularly as researchers from around the world find fewer opportunities than before in the US. Recruited researchers can be of any nationality and must not have resided or carried out their main work or studies in the country of the recruiting institution for more than 12 months in the previous three years.
The draft work programme gives researchers the possibility of implementing their MSCA-backed project on a part-time basis, for personal, family or professional reasons, which could benefit international scientists who still have family ties in their home country.
Maria Leptin, president of the European Research Council, recently suggested that Europe should offer scientists a “haven,” in a “non-selfish manner,” allowing them to spend only half their time in Europe if needed.
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A related goal is to improve working conditions and long-term prospects for researchers in Europe. Institutions applying for support will be evaluated partly on the competitiveness of the salaries and career development opportunities offered as part of their programme, as well as the quality of long-term career prospects beyond the duration of the fellowship.
Supported programmes can be in any research discipline, despite indications from Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, at a Choose Europe launch event in May, that support beyond the pilot phase would privilege “frontier fields like artificial intelligence.”
The MSCA calls are part of a broader €500 million package to make Europe “a magnet for researchers,” including seven-year “super grants” worth up to €7 million under the European Research Council.
The idea for a Choose Europe initiative under MSCA was first floated in October 2024 by the expert group set up to advise the Commission on the future of Horizon Europe.
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