EU tells US scientists to dump Trump for a lab in Europe

https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/06/eu_us_science_scheme/

by tofino_dreaming

22 comments

  2. >*make Europe “a magnet for researchers.”*

    MEAMFR!!
    We need to work on the acronym a bit.

    >*Unfortunately, as your discussions have shown today, the role of science in today’s world is questioned.*

    It’s the scientific method

  3. Because of Trump, Europe will brain drain America, and we will be left with a bunch of Trump dummies.

  4. Meanwhile, can you give job to EU scientists and researchers, while give them good life conditions, labs and researcher centers?

    Also, why give privileges to USA scientists over anyone from other parts of the world, isn’t it supposed to be based on merit?

    Anyway I doubt that 500M€ will do much, maybe if they redirect some money of the 150.000M€ for weapons it would have effect.

  5. I always read stuff like this and it always seems nice as an American scientist until you remember the gross mistreatment of scientists in general 😭 and I have so many fears that others would hate me. it’s so frustrating to live in a country that doesn’t invest at all in the science you want to be doing, but equally frustrating knowing you’ll be an imposter and likely hated wherever you go

  6. Let’s call it a ‘Trump dump bump’ for Europe…

  8. Not going to work whilst great idea, too many red tapes in the EU.

  9. Sounds like a good plan. Science needs to keep moving forward.

  10. Brutal truth: the EU lacks the money, infrastructure and desire to do this. I don’t think anyone in these comments has any concept of the scale of the US scientific enterprise pre-Jan 2025.

  11. European academia is not a magnet for its own researchers. European universities have produced too many PhDs and Postdocs, and the number of permanent positions is very very very limited. For every position opened in Belgium or Germany, it’s not just Belgians and Germans applying. You’ll often have tons of applications from Italy, a country that has produced way too many graduates but doesn’t have enough qualified positions to absorb them all.

    The reality is, for the average European PhD holder in science, it’s way more appealing to just work in the industry. Your career path is secure, you don’t suffer from burnouts, and you don’t need to apply from grant to grant for your postdoc, which, btw, the longer you do it, the less employable you become.

    So if Europe wants to tell American scientists to dump Trump for a lab in Europe, it will need to invest massively to provide permanent positions for them with attractive salary. It also needs to improve its capability in translating knowledge into application, something that the Yanks do excel in. Otherwise it’s all just posturing, particularly when countries like the Netherlands are cutting funding to universities.

  12. EU should just promise not to assist US with collecting student loans.

    That’s 100% free and will attract more Americans.

  16. “scientists” hopefully guys in actual science studies & no gender study activists who need uni money to survive

  17. Good luck to Europe. America is over, this is the future

  19. Nooo! Come to Canada! We have poutine and beaver tails! :p

    Seriously though I’ve been heckling my MP for about 6 months urging him to propose a motion and/or legislation to fasttrack immigration of any American scientist, doctor, engineer, artist or educator who wants to flee. We have a *hell* of an opportunity to pick up some serious talent, and if they’re fleeing fascism they’ll fit right in. 🇨🇦

    I’d be proud to have any of them as my neighbor.

  20. Europe is not short of good scientists or good ideas. Europe lacks funding, stable conditions, and infrastructure

  22. # Brussels rolls out €500M plan to lure boffins with grants and actual respect for research

    The European Commission (EC) is looking to make Europe the home of science by tempting researchers and scientists to relocate to the continent amid a more hostile stance toward academic freedom in the US.

    At an event at Sorbonne University, EC President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled the “[Choose Europe](https://commission.europa.eu/topics/research-and-innovation/choose-europe_en)” scheme to promote the region as a world-leading center of research, innovation, and scientific freedom.

    In a speech, she outlined financial incentives to draw scientific talent, including a €500 million ($566 million) package for 2025-2027 to make Europe “a magnet for researchers.”

    “I am convinced that science remains the fuel of progress and growth for our societies. Without the ideas and breakthroughs that come from scientific research, progress sooner or later stagnates,” Von der Leyen stated.

    “Unfortunately, as your discussions have shown today, the role of science in today’s world is questioned. The investment in fundamental, free, and open research is questioned. What a gigantic miscalculation. I believe that science holds the key to our future here in Europe. Without it, we simply cannot address today’s global challenges – from health to new tech, from climate to oceans.”

    The EC President didn’t identify any particular culprit for undermining free and open research, but her comments come in the wake of the Trump administration making a number of [cuts to scientific funding](https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/25/us_funding_science_cuts_lawsuit/) in the US, including to the [NASA budget](https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/02/nasa_funding_slashed/) and the [National Science Foundation](https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/21/nsf_staff_cut/), and specifically targeting [diversity and equality](https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/21/nsf_cancel_awards_dei/) efforts.

    It also follows an earlier move by [Aix-Marseille University in the south of France](https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/14/france_us_science_offer/), which announced its Safe Place For Science program in March. This offered a “safe and stimulating environment” for researchers wishing to pursue their work free of persecution, and was explicitly pitched at American scientists who might be feeling unloved by their current government.

    That invitation wasn’t a free-for-all. Offers were dependent on the candidate’s profile and only provide employment contracts and research budgets for up to three years. The Europe-wide offer will also likely require relevant qualifications.

    Europe has everything that is needed for science to thrive, Von der Leyen said. There is stable and sustained investment, infrastructure, a commitment to open and collaborative science, plus access to quality education and healthcare.

    She acknowledged there are areas where the EU needs to do better, with researchers often facing a mass of complex bureaucracy compared to some other parts of the world, for example, but said the Commission is ready to tackle this issue head-on.

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