Interrupted experiments, uncertain career paths and lingering COVID-19 effects may be discouraging young researchers, warns former European Research Council chief Jean-Pierre Bourguignon. He urges EU-wide action to help the ‘research precariat’

Budget should double to ensure Europe can fund all excellent science Leptin says, as she takes the reins at the European Research Council on 1 November

National funding scheme will help researchers in Swiss institutions carry on with European Research Council and Marie Skłodowska-Curie projects, as they wait for Bern and Brussels to thrash out an agreement on Horizon Europe participation

Maria Leptin will not join until 1 November due to clashing commitments in her calendar, but research lobbies are sanguine about the delay

Jean-Pierre Bourguignon urges EU and member states to maintain investment in fundamental research, as innovation drive funnels money to applied research and industry partnerships in digital and climate technologies

After weeks of uncertainty it’s official: researchers in Switzerland are no longer eligible for European Research Council, Marie Skłodowska-Curie or European Innovation Council funding

Biggest budget to date will see synergy and proof of concept grants return, with the first calls opening this week. Pandemic-related disruption of research will be taken into account when deciding the winners

After a year of uncertainty, Maria Leptin is set to lead the European Research Council from October. The new president has dedicated her career to basic research in molecular biology and has a long track record in science administration

A Dutch study of some 2014 European Research Council grantees claims to find ‘bias’ in their selection. But the agency disputes that, and an academic debate ensues