In Rome, the “Choose Europe for Science” summit in Paris causes “strong irritation”
The platform launched by Emmanuel Macron and Ursula von der Leyen on Monday, May 5, at the Sorbonne to attract foreign scientists to Europe has sparked anger in Italy. Italian leaders denounce the initiative as favoring France to the detriment of its European neighbors.
In Paris, in the Sorbonne amphitheater, on Monday, May 5, “the loudest applause from the approximately 800 people present” resounded when Emmanuel Macron “attacked the Trump administration, whose budget cuts to scientific research threaten academic freedom,” reports the correspondent for the conservative Italian newspaper Il Foglio .
The President of the Republic was speaking at the “Choose Europe for Science” summit, an event he co-organized in a few days with Ursula von der Leyen , which aims to attract researchers, mainly American, to the laboratories of the Old Continent.
Thus, to "make Europe a magnet for researchers," the President of the European Commission announced a "new envelope of 500 million euros" for the period 2025-2027. Emmanuel Macron also took the opportunity to mention an investment of 100 million euros from the French government, again to attract non-European scientists.
However, this Parisian meeting did not meet with unanimous approval among Europeans. While the Spanish, Dutch and Austrian research ministers supported
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