A group of European countries is devising a strategy to poach researchers in the United States in response to American government cuts in education and research.
Twelve governments said the European Union needs an “attractivity boom” to bring over talent from abroad “who might suffer from research interference and ill-motivated and brutal funding cuts,” in a letter to the European Commission seen by POLITICO.
The undated letter was addressed to EU Innovation Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva and signed by France, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Spain, Slovenia, Germany, Greece, Bulgaria and Romania.
“It is urgent … to organize ourselves to welcome talents who would like or need to leave the United States,” French Research Minister Philippe Baptiste told POLITICO in a statement.
The U.S. is not mentioned by name in the letter but there are explicit references. “The current international context reminds us that freedom of science can be put at risk anywhere and at any time,” the text read.
Since Donald Trump took office in January, the U.S. research and education landscape has been hit with massive cuts. The U.S. Education Department has started cutting roughly half of its workforce and several universities including the Johns Hopkins University have cut jobs because of the loss of government funding.
The letter included several suggestions on how to attract researchers, including dedicated funding, an immigration framework and strengthening partnerships with “other leading scientific nations.”
The countries want the Commission to organize a meeting of EU research ministers in coming weeks to devise a plan, they wrote.
In past weeks, several universities across Europe have launched attempts to attract U.S.-based researchers. One of Brussels’ universities, the Free University Brussels (VUB), on Monday announced 12 positions for international researchers “with a specific focus on American scholars.”
The French Aix-Marseille University also launched a “safe space for science program,” referring to “a context where some scientists in the United States may feel threatened or hindered in their research.”
Europe looks to poach US researchers as Trump cuts funding
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