EU Unveils $500M Plan To Lure U.S Scientists Amid Trump Research Cuts
The European Union (EU) has unveiled a sweeping $500m incentives package aimed at attracting American scientists aggrieved by restrictive policies and funding cuts under US President Donald Trump.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made this known on Monday, during the “Choose Europe for Science” conference at the Sorbonne University in Paris.
In April, around 2,000 prominent American scientists warned that the United States’ leadership in science is being “decimated” due to deep research funding cuts under the Trump administration.
According to them, the policies were creating a “climate of fear” that threatens the integrity and independence of scientific research.
Von der Leyen positioned the EU initiative as a strategic move to defend academic freedom and scientific integrity.
“We have to offer the right incentives,” von der Leyen said, stressing that science must remain free from political interference.
Without directly naming Trump, she condemned the rising global distrust in science, calling it “a gigantic miscalculation.”
French President Emmanuel Macron also agreed with her, lamenting the decline of academic freedom in the United States.
“Nobody could have imagined that this great global democracy… was going to commit such an error,” he said.
He pledged that France would never accept a government telling researchers what they can or cannot study.
The EU hopes the package, equivalent to €500m, will make the continent a magnet for researchers facing program shutdowns, job losses, and immigration uncertainty in the US.
The bloc also aims to strengthen its global leadership in strategic research areas like health, climate change, AI, biodiversity, and space.
France has already begun taking steps, with universities such as Aix Marseille opening programs like “Safe Place for Science” to welcome US academics.
The National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), France’s national scientific research agency, is also rolling out initiatives to attract both foreign and expatriate French researchers.
While experts acknowledge that EU institutions often offer lower salaries than their American counterparts, European officials argue that benefits like affordable healthcare, education, and strong social protections help offset the pay gap.
Officials from across the EU, along with representatives from the UK, Norway, and Switzerland, attended Monday’s conference to bolster the plan, which includes up to 50% funding support for selected research projects and potential tax incentives.
An official in Macron’s office said the initiative is a response to a global trend of shrinking academic freedom.
“We’re sending a message, Europe is open for science,” the official said.
EU Unveils $500M Plan To Lure U.S Scientists Amid Trump Research Cuts is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
