European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated on the 5th that the EU will launch a €500 million (approximately 23.96 billion Malaysian Ringgit) incentive plan to make the EU a "magnet for researchers from other regions."
She made this statement during a "Choose Research in Europe" conference held in Paris.
The conference aims to attract foreign researchers, especially those American researchers who are dissatisfied with President Trump's policies and are willing to turn to Europe.
Von der Leyen said at the conference: "We must provide the right incentives."
She pointed out that questioning the role of science is a "significant miscalculation," adding "science is critical to our European future."
France Calls for U.S. Researchers to Develop in Europe
On the other hand, French President Emmanuel Macron urged American researchers affected by Trump administration policies to develop in Europe, "If you love freedom, come here and do research."
He criticized the Trump administration's decision to shut down university research projects.
He said: "No one would have thought that this great democratic nation, whose economic model so heavily relies on free science and innovation, and has been more innovative and spread innovative results more widely than Europeans in the past 30 years, would make such a mistake."
He also noted that the French government will provide an additional €100 million through the "France 2030" National Investment Plan to attract foreign researchers, especially those from the United States.