In a move literally anyone could have seen coming, other countries are trying to take advantage of the Trump administration’s assault on the overall scientific research enterprise in the US. During an event in Paris called Choose Europe for Science, France and the European Union announced a half-billion-Euro initiative aimed at luring some of the many, many American scientists who will see their grants canceled, their indirect costs that let research actually happen slashed, and their overall ability to actually study the things they want to study undermined in a thousand other ways.
“Nobody could imagine a few years ago that one of the great democracies of the world would eliminate research programs on the pretext that the word ‘diversity’ appeared in its program,” said French president Emmanuel Macron on Monday. An “error,” a “gigantic miscalculation” — whatever you call what the US is doing to scientists, there is a clear incentive for researchers to look elsewhere to continue their work. With the €500 million (about $567 million) fund, Europe is turning on a giant neon sign in hopes those scientists will look in their direction.
Along with that pledge, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen urged EU member countries to invest three percent of their GDP into research and development by 2030. “We call on researchers worldwide to unite and join us,” she said. “If you love freedom, come and help us stay free.” There is also a plan to codify scientific freedom into European law, with the European Research Area Act.
Moving across an ocean is, obviously, not something that every researcher can even consider, for any number of reasons; but giving European universities an ocean of cash to help cover some of the costs and get those scientists started will certainly help. It remains an incredible own-goal that Trump is dismantling the entire scientific edifice, built over centuries, in a span of months, but at least some countries are trying to rebuild it elsewhere.
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