You wouldn’t have a football world cup without the best teams, and equally you shouldn’t have a research programme without the best scientists, says Maria Leptin on the UK’s return to the fold

Maria Leptin looks to how Horizon Europe’s successor programme can help bridge the east-west gap in research performance after visiting Croatia and Slovenia

But 213 researchers chose to stay put, giving up their awards. These have now been reallocated. Meanwhile, the UK has extended its safety net for ERC grant winners

In an interview with Science|Business, ERC president Maria Leptin explains how the agency will change its evaluation procedures

The EU frontier research fund is to announce changes in how it assesses proposals, taking a broader view of the potential impact and the contribution to society, ERC president Maria Leptin tells MEPs

In 15 years, twelve scientists funded by the EU’s frontier research programme have won Nobel prizes. ERC presidents past and current give their views on the recipe for success – and why it should be defended

It can provide answers, but science alone will not deliver on sustainable development goals, says Maria Leptin in a reality check on ‘scientific populism’

The country’s record on academic freedom is far from stellar, but the hope is these partnerships will help bolster commitment to researcher autonomy

Experts from the region point to a lack of national research funding, poor access to networking and cultural factors as reasons for the low success rate

Enterprising academics are using European Research Council proof of concept grants to build companies and negotiate Europe’s market failures