Might Europe one day again be a global scientific powerhouse? Analysis of ERC publications suggests it will not be possible without changes in research policy

TL;DR

This study compares research performance across European countries, revealing intrinsic weaknesses in EU research output and emphasizing the need for structural policy changes to enhance Europe's scientific standing.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence that EU countries, despite funding, underperform in research compared to UK and Switzerland, highlighting the necessity for policy reforms.

Findings

EU research performance is lower than UK and Switzerland.

ERC funding improves research output but not citation impact.

EU's future depends on structural research policy changes.

Abstract

Numerous EU documents praise the excellence of EU research without empirical evidence and against academic studies. We investigated research performance in two fields of high socioeconomic importance, advanced technology and basic medical research, in two sets of European countries, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain (GFIS), and the UK, the Netherlands, and Switzerland (UKNCH). Despite historical and geographical proximity, research performance in GFIS is much lower than in UKNCH, and well below the world average. Funding from the European Research Council (ERC) greatly improves performance both in GFIS and UKNCH, but ERC-GFIS publications are less cited than ERC-UKNCH publications. We conclude that research performance in GFIS and in other EU countries is intrinsically low even when it is generously funded. The technological and economic future of the EU depends on improving research, which requires structural changes in research policy within the EU, and in most EU countries.