EU Commission pledges €500m in funding to attract US researchers

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged €500 million ($566 million) in research funding on Monday to incentivize scientists to move to Europe.

"We want scientists, researchers, academics and highly skilled workers to choose Europe," von der Leyen said, speaking at an event at the Sorbonne University in Paris.

"Europe has everything that is needed for science to thrive. We have the stable and sustained investment. We have the infrastructure. We have the commitment to open and collaborative research," she added.

The new funding package for the years 2025-27 is "to make Europe a magnet for researchers," von der Leyen said.

Scientists who settle in Europe are to receive more money and longer grants with a particular focus on early career scientists, and bringing research results to market is to be sped up.

The announcement comes as US research institutions are faced with budget and job cuts.

US President Donald Trump has accused his country's elite universities of pursuing a left-wing ideology and allowing anti-Semitism on campus.

"We can all agree that science has no passport, no gender, no ethnicity, no political party," von der Leyen said in her speech.

The role of science and investment in fundamental research is being called into question in today's world, she stated, speaking in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron.

"What a gigantic miscalculation," von der Leyen stressed.