"Please, Europe, let's get our act together and be one" (Maria Leptin, ERC)

"Mobility is essential. Why did we have to wait for Trump to make life miserable for our poor colleagues in the US to start thinking about Choose Europe? We should have been thinking five, ten, fifteen years ago—what does it take for Europe to be more attractive? Why do our nationals go to the big universities in the US rather than choosing Europe in the first place?", asks Maria Leptin, President of the ERC, on 23/05/2025 at the University of Louvain's 600^th anniversary.

"We need to look at our infrastructures, our career structures, and countries should stop competing with each other. We've been talking about ERA for 25 years, degrees still need to be translated into the national language, even if their owner have been working in research for years... It's crazy. Please, Europe, let's get our act together and be one".

On the definition Europe should give to competitiveness, the President of the ERC states: "Instead of focusing on whether we're ahead or behind others, why don't we just focus on doing better? We should simply do what we do—with confidence and pride in our own…