Friends of the ERC – a petition against a budget cut

One of the greatest European success stories in the last decade is the European Research Council (ERC)<https://erc.europa.eu/>. Thanks to its focus on excellent science and bold ideas, and its independence from political intervention, ERC grants have become one of the most prestigious research grants in the world.

Considering the current European debate on the next long-term EU budget, there is significant reason to fear a budget cut for research, which is likely to affect the ERC.

Friends of the ERC is an initiative which brings together leading international researchers and research institutions to petition for ERC to receive adequate funding in the next long-term budget.

Via an open-letter petition, we urge the EU to protect the funding for European Research Council grants to receive adequate funding in the next long-term budget.

Please support the petition: https://www.change.org/p/council-of-the-european-union-protect-the-european-research-council-in-the-eu-budget?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=custom_url&recruited_by_id=092d77a0-700a-11ea-b562-cbdb09e9eb7f

The campaign has over the last three months collected more than 14 000 signatures for the petition on www.change.org/FriendsoftheERC<http://www.change.org/FriendsoftheERC>  from researchers in 86 countries. National and international media have covered the campaign – listed here<https://friendsoftheerc.w.uib.no/news/>.

We have also received support from many notable supporters<https://friendsoftheerc.w.uib.no/noteable-supporters/> such as associations and organizations, scientists, leaders, foundations and nearly 50 universities.