Answer to a written question – Massive brain drain from EU universities is an existential threat to Europe’s future – E-001033/2025(ASW)

Establishing measures to attract and retain talents and counter brain drain is a priority for the Commission, as human capital is fundamental for the competitiveness of research and innovation and of the European economy.

The new European framework for research careers and the new European Charter for Researchers[1] support attractive careers and working conditions in universities and beyond, contributing to a balanced mobility of research talents between EU countries and sectors, to retaining European talents, and to attracting international ones.

Horizon Europe[2] supports the implementation of the new framework, for example via the Human Resources Excellence in Research award[3], a Mutual Learning Exercise[4] supporting the exchange of good practices by Member States[5], and a Talent Ecosystems pilot call supporting attractive careers for early-career researchers[6]. Additional measures to ensure attractive careers are expected in the European Research Area (ERA) Policy Agenda 2025-2027[7] with Horizon Europe funding. A proposal for a legislative ERA Act is due in 2026, including measures to further strengthen researchers’ careers and mobility.

The Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)[8] play a pivotal role in retaining European researchers, bringing European talents back to Europe and attracting foreign ones[9]. A new Choose Europe MSCA action is foreseen to be launched in 2025 to provide excellent researchers coming to Europe with pathways to more stable and attractive employment.

The European Universities alliances funded by Erasmus+ continue to support the European academic community, as they offer enhanced global visibility and attractive career development within the institutions of the alliances and across diverse ecosystems[10].

• [1]  OJ C, C/2023/1640, 29.12.2023.
• [2]  https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe_en .
• [3]  https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/hrexcellenceaward.
• [4] Under the Horizon Europe Policy Support Facility.
• [5] https://projects.research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/en/statistics/policy-support-facility/psf-challenge/mutual-learning-exercise-research-careers .
• [6] https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/HORIZON-WIDERA-2024-ERA-02-03?isExactMatch=true&status=31094501,31094503,31094502&frameworkProgramme=43108390&callIdentifier=HORIZON-WIDERA-2024-ERA-02&order=ASC&pageNumber=1&pageSize=50&sortBy=identifier .
• [7] Proposal for a Council Recommendation on the European Research Area Policy Agenda 2025-2027, COM(2025)0062 final.
• [8] https://marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/ .
• [9] See European Commission: AIT, CSES, Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, PPMI, Dėlkutė, R. et al., Study on mobility flows of researchers in the context of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions — Analysis and recommendations towards a more balanced brain circulation across the European Research Area — Final report, Publications Office of the European Union, 2022, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2766/401134.
• [10] European Commission: Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, PPMI, Grumbinaitė, I., Colus, F. and Buitrago Carvajal, H., Report on the outcomes and transformational potential of the European Universities initiative, Publications Office of the European Union, 2025, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2766/32313.