Over 70 Nobel laureates urge EU to boost research funding
More than seventy Nobel laureates on Friday urged the heads of state and government of EU countries to allocate at least 200 billion euros to the Horizon Europe research programme in the EU's multiannual budget for 2028-2034, Belga News Agency reports.
This was revealed in an open letter published on Friday by ISE (Initiative for Science in Europe).
So far, the letter has been signed by 72 Nobel laureates, mainly in Chemistry, Physics and Medicine. That number could still rise. Belgian Francis Halzen, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics this year, has also signed the appeal.
The acclaimed scientists fear that the research budget will be cut. The European Commission initially earmarked 175 billion euros in its multiannual budget, but the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU reduced that figure to 158 billion euros in its October proposal. They point out that Mario Draghi, former president of the European Central Bank (ECB), recently called for the research budget to be doubled in response to competition from the United States and China.
European Council president Antonio Costa is expected to present a new compromise proposal next week. It will be discussed for the first time by the heads of state and government at an extraordinary European summit on 26 and 27 November. The Portuguese politician hopes to reach an agreement by the end of the year, at the summit on 17 and 18 December.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that the Nobel Foundation had raised the monetary award for the 2026 Nobel Prize by about $102,000, bringing the total to approximately $1.22 million (SEK 12 million) per prize category.
