On 5 May, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and French president Emmanuel Macron launched a public riposte to attacks on science in what the latter referred to as ¡°one of the biggest democracies in the world¡± ¨C a thinly veiled reference to the US.

It is rare indeed for Europe¡¯s two most important leaders to devote a whole speech to academic freedom and scientific excellence. The choice of venue for the ¡°Choose Europe for Science¡± event ?¨C Sorbonne University, which had hosted Macron¡¯s landmark speeches on the future of Europe in 2017 and 2024 ¨C signalled that the intention was to do more than merely underline the importance of freedom of science. The speeches were about science as a pillar of European democracy and prosperity, and a cornerstone of its future.

We should not take for granted such robust defences of European values and research agendas ¨C including in the social sciences, humanities and climate sciences. Many leaders worldwide prefer to respond to the US administration¡¯s attacks on science quietly. Moreover, the speeches came on the morning that the success of the far right in Romania¡¯s presidential elections was reported. Macron and von der Leyen defended science not just in the face of attacks globally but also within Europe.

Both leaders acknowledged the importance of aligning new measures with existing funding mechanisms. Clearly conscious of that new measures for overseas scientists were hardly compatible with domestic funding cuts, they pledged support to increase European research and innovation (R&I) spending to 3 per cent of GDP by 2030 (it is currently at 2.22 per cent).

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In light of current discussions about the way European R&I funding is spent, it was extremely important to hear von der Leyen¡¯s praise of the Horizon Europe programme and its openness to association from the European Union¡¯s neighbours near (such as the UK and Switzerland) and far (including Canada and New Zealand). the Choose Europe for Science initiative, with €500 million (?423 million) of new funds between 2025 and 2027 earmarked to attract the best minds to Europe ?¨C no doubt with a particular eye to luring those from the US.

Von der Leyen announced a new seven-year ¡°supergrant¡± scheme for the European Research Council (ERC). This will be flanked by increased support for early career researchers under the Marie Sk?odowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), with the EU funding an attractive salary for two or three years and the host institution paying for another two.

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Von der Leyen reiterated R&I Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva¡¯s proposal to create a new legal basis for academic freedom as part of a forthcoming European Research Area Act. And she promised better regulation and the removal of barriers such as visa requirements for overseas researchers and financial difficulties in commercialising breakthrough research.

France is not the only country to flank these European initiatives with . Spain has just announced a 50 per cent (to €45 million) funding increase for its to attract overseas researchers, with a €200,000 top-up for US researchers. The incoming German coalition government has promised to launch a 1,000 talents programme to enhance Germany¡¯s international attractiveness. And in Austria, national university law is being amended so that the proportion of proactive hires allowed outside conventional hiring processes increases from 5 per cent to 10 per cent.

The fundamental challenge around many of these initiatives is that in a number of European countries, core science budgets are under intense pressure. In France, the science budget for 2025 relative to 2024, while just a few weeks ago the government cut ?by decree. How attractive is it really for overseas researchers to join systems that are subject to such cuts? And what can be gained if the Netherlands culls a total of but creates a new to attract top scientists from overseas?

For Europe to respond effectively to global attacks on science, it is critical to be clear on what we need, and for actions to follow words.

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If the goal is for Europe to be a haven for the world¡¯s best researchers and innovators, the EU is right to boost the tools we already have, such as the ERC and MSCA. But its next Multiannual Financial Framework, which is currently being negotiated, must demonstrate its unwavering support for them as bottom-up instruments, as well as for the international research collaboration (including for curiosity-driven research) enabled by Horizon Europe more generally.

Second, boosting programmes to attract top scientists to Europe must be flanked by significant increases to the core financing of universities and research institutes. Spending 3 per cent of GDP on R&I by 2030 requires a spending boost of 35 per cent within the next five years. Europe¡¯s governments must begin addressing this urgent task right now.

In addition, if Europe wants to be a credible beacon for academic freedom, it should adopt the European Parliament¡¯s proposal to establish stronger scholars-at-risk programmes in the next framework programme for research and innovation (FP10), capable of acting quickly and effectively as the need arises.

It is also key to direct European funds to support international collaboration that will otherwise be endangered by the US¡¯ withdrawal of funding. International projects on climate change and reproductive health come to mind.

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It is extraordinarily important to see von der Leyen and Macron committing themselves to the future of science, from fundamental research to applied science and innovation, as core to Europe¡¯s future. Other leaders must now help translate this commitment into action, reinforcing a European research area characterised by strong investment, competitive research infrastructures, global collaboration, attractive career pathways and scientific freedom.

Jan Palmowski is secretary general of The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities.

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