Zaharieva calls for “more money” to attract and retain talents in the EU

European Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva has called for “more money” in response to the “enormous interest” in the European Research Council (ERC) and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA).

In an interview with News Tank on 11/09/2026, Zaharieva, Commissioner for Start-ups and R&I, said: "We have seen a really enormous interest in the ERC and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. In a way, they became victims of their success."

She was commenting on the Commission’s announcement of a record of 21,627 applications submitted for the 2026 MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships. The same call had already received a record of 17,058 applications the previous year, an increase of 26.7% year-on-year.

"We have resources only for 1,600. You can imagine the frustration among those applicants," she added. She also pointed out that the researchers were aware that these calls were highly competitive, adding "but we need more money".

Zaharieva stated that this level of appeal highlights the importance of the budget: "We proposed doubling the budget for Horizon Europe 2028-2034. It will still be insufficient…