Nobel laureates meet Presidents of EU institutions to warn against cuts to the EU research budget

Sir Tim Hunt, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2001, and member of the European Research Council (ERC) Scientific Council said: “It is a great honour for us to meet the EU Presidents in Brussels. I hope our discussions will promote the initiatives led by the research community. It would be a mistake to cut funding in research and innovation, which are crying out for investment. Disproportionate budget cuts would not only cause pain to thousands of researchers, but also lead to ‘brain drain’ to the U.S. and elsewhere. Europe can ill afford to lose its most talented scientists and engineers.”
The open letter which was initiated by Nobel laureates Sir Tim Hunt and Professor Nüsslein-Volhard, both members of the ERC Scientific Council, underlines "it is essential that we support, and even more importantly, inspire in a pan-European way the extraordinary wealth of research and innovation potential that exists all over Europe" and warns that “in case of severe cuts to the EU research and innovation budget we risk losing a generation of talented scientists just when Europe needs them most." The letter which was published in key media on 23 October, also points to the ERC that "has achieved global recognition in a remarkably short time."
Today’s initiative aims to preserve the European Commission’s proposed budget for 2014-2020 (€ 80 billion, see EC press release) thus ensuring that research and innovation do not suffer from disproportionate cuts when compared to other programmes.
Building upon the letter, young researchers from various scientific fields launched a petition coordinated by the Initiative for Science in Europe (ISE), making an appeal to EU leaders for not making cuts to the research budget. Within hours, thousands of citizens signed it across all EU member states and worldwide and to date, they are over 131 000. The petition will be handed in to the three EU Presidents.
The delegation led by Nobel Laureates that will meet the EU Presidents, is composed of: Sir Tim Hunt (Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine 2001), Jules Hoffmann (Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine 2011), Helga Nowotny (President of the European Research Council, ERC), Maria Leptin (President of the Initiative for Science in Europe and Director of the European Molecular Biology Organisation, EMBO), Wolfgang Eppenschwandtner (Executive Coordinator of the Initiative for Science in Europe, ISE), Leif Schröder (Secretary for the Young Academy of Europe).