European Research Council calls for "coordinated efforts" to reduce EU's divergence in research strength

The European Research Council (ERC) has called for stronger action to close the gap in research performance gap between the EU's best and weakest countries in a white paper published on 26/03/2026.

The white paper examined the persistent gap in participation and success rates between Europe’s strongest research systems and countries performing less well, called 'widening countries' (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia).

"Europe cannot afford a research landscape divided into two tiers. If these gaps persist, they will weaken Europe’s overall scientific strength. At the same time, any measures to address them must fully preserve the ERC’s core principle: projects are selected solely based on scientific excellence," stated Leszek Kaczmarek, Chair of the ERC Working Group on Widening European Participation and Member of the ERC Scientific Council.

The white paper highlights "deeper structural barriers that limit the ability of researchers to compete successfully for highly selective frontier research funding":
• less favourable academic…