Barely six weeks after taking office for a second term, the Trump administration's cost-cutting in science and technology may result in a positive outcome for research in Europe. The journal Nature has called the moves an "assault on science" in the US — but they may have worldwide ramifications.
What is Trump's ‘assault on science’?
President Donald Trump and his team have laid off thousands of employees at US science agencies: These include senior positions at Nasa, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is considered one of the world's most important sites for climate and weather research.
The job cuts have involved work on nuclear safety, disease surveillance — including that of measles and avian flu, both currently circulating in the US — extreme-weather forecasting and climate research.
Even among those scientists who have retained their jobs, some are questioning whether they still have a future at American agencies and research institutes.
They say they face further funding and hiring freezes, restrictions on data transfer, and censorship around climate change, gender studies and vaccine hesitancy.
US science brain drain
"We can suddenly recruit talent that we would not have been able to attract under normal circumstances," said Patrick Cramer, President of the Max Planck Society in Germany.
The prospect of a US science brain drain is seen as "a great opportunity for Europe as a research location," said Cramer.
Applications from US scientists to the group of 84 Max Planck Institutes have at least doubled and, in some cases, tripled.
"But for research as a whole, it is a clear step backwards, something that worries me greatly," he said.
Will displaced US scientists find a home in Europe?
"It's important to stand ready to take in outstanding researchers who have to or want to leave the US," said Christina Beck, head of communications at the Max Planck Society in Munich.
Beck told DW that universities and research centres around Germany were "expecting a lot more applications from the US."
Some European research institutes were looking to attract US-based researchers by making it easier for them to relocate and continue their work here.
France's Aix-Marseille University (AMU) announced on March 5 that it was setting up a program dedicated to attracting scientists whose research faces possible censorship in the US.
The university said it aimed to welcome researchers into "an environment conducive to innovation, excellence and academic freedom."
European funders aim to attract top research talent
Major European science innovation and funding agencies are also considering measures to attract US-based scientists.
Michiel Scheffer at the European Innovation Council (EIC) wrote on social media that "a concept" to welcome scientists from the US would be discussed at an EIC board meeting in April.
The European Commission, which funds major European research projects, including a $103 billion program called Horizon Europe, is considering the creation of "a special passport" for scientists — an EU visa policy to attract talented researchers.
The policy, which the Commission plans to present later this year, would aim to attract US-based researchers, and researchers elsewhere, who feel their work may be hindered by current trends in the US.
However, it's not just European research centers looking to attract US-based researchers. On March 5, the Chinese government said it would expand its efforts to attract researchers affected by Trump's funding cuts.
South Korea is also formulating a response, with the government planning to revise visa policies for foreign scientists to make it easier for them to work in the country.
Stand Up for Science protests show global solidarity
Some European science funders warn against exploiting the challenges US-based scientists face.
"We should avoid saying 'God, they are having a bad time over there, now let's go and snatch them all back,'" said Maria Leptin, president of the European Research Council, at the European Parliament in February.
But many others feel that Trump's science policies will affect science globally and say that that is what they are fighting against. As some expressed in that article in Nature, scientific research is an inherently international, collaborative effort. And there are indications that some of the cuts to US research have already affected projects in other countries.
On March 7, thousands of researchers and science supporters protested in cities across the US against the Trump administration's policies. These "Stand Up for Science" protests mobilized across Europe, as well, including at nearly 40 university cities in France. They were inspired by the March for Science movement, inaugurated during President Trump's first term in office between 2017-2021.
