The” immune system” of a safe and equal Europe is in danger, according to researchers
The Association of ERC Grantees (AERG) expresses grave concern over the future of fundamental research in Europe. It released a statement in which it urges European leaders to protect fundamental science by increasing the autonomy of the European Research Council (ERC). Current discussions of the successor framework programme to Horizon Europe suggest it will be “tightly connected” to a European Competitiveness Fund. This greatly endangers the ERC’s autonomy and thus its mission. As behavioural scientist Karin Roelofs, professor of experimental psychopathology at Radboud University in Nijmegen (The Netherlands) and vice president of AERG puts it, “Fundamental research is the immune system of a healthy, safe and equal society. While it may sound counterintuitive, fundamental, curiosity-driven research often leads to more breakthroughs than planned programmatic research. If the two compete within a single Competitiveness Fund, programmatic research will inevitably have the upper hand, because the more intuitive narrative of concretely planned research is easier to sell. As cognitive psychologist Axel Cleeremans, research director of the Belgian Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique and President of AERG, adds: “This poses a serious threat to fundamental research, particularly within the current political climate. The European Commission is discussing the future of the ERC right now. European leaders must urgently protect the autonomy of the ERC by any means.”