On May 23, the EU gathered for a Competitiveness Council meeting led by Ekaterina Zaharieva, the Commissioner for Start-ups, Research, and Innovation. At the top of the agenda: funding strategies and new measures to lure foreign researchers—especially those affected by US science budget cuts.
Zaharieva underscored the urgency of a unified European approach, calling for tighter coordination on funding and faster immigration procedures. She pointed to visa delays as a key obstacle and urged member states to adopt digital tools created by her office to accelerate processing. With the 2028–2034 EU budget on the horizon, she's pushing for a science-focused funding package that meets the scale of Europe's research ambitions.
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Brussels wants faster visa paths to lure US researchers
Choose Europe for Science: EU comes together to attract top research talent
