The 2021 draft budget would give Horizon Europe commitments of €11.5 billion, less than the European Commission's June proposal which had €12.3 billion slated for the R&D programme.

The decision by the governing body of the European Research Council (ERC) to pull support for the radical open access initiative Plan S, is a "slap in the face" to all those who support the scheme, said its creator.

The president of Switzerland's top-ranked university says his institution is tentatively getting back to speed after the coronavirus lockdown - but that this is harder than anticipated.

OLAF, the EU's anti-fraud agency, this week confirmed an unnamed Greek scientist de-frauded the European Research Council (ERC) of roughly €190,000. "A complex fraud involving a Greek scientist and her network of international researchers has been uncovered by investigators," OLAF said.

Mauro Ferrari resigned unexpectedly as president of the European Research Council, triggering a noisy public spat over why and how he left.

Universities across Europe are grappling with digital problems, after the COVID-19 pandemic forced campuses to shut down and move research and teaching online. Digital capabilities are not distributed equally across European universities, and deficiencies have delayed implementing systems for online teaching. Bandwidth and student access to computers is also an issue.

Swiss scientists fear a number of political obstacles could block their path into the EU's next big research programme.

Emmanuel Macron has urged EU member states to put more money into the collective Brussels pot so Europe can invest in key technologies of the future. The French president said he is "not frustrated but impatient" for the EU to take on bigger projects.

The Trump administration fired a diplomatic shot across the European Commission's bow, with a public warning that it may reject an offer for the US to join the EU's next big research programme.

The European Open Science Cloud, an enormous repository of research results that is due to go live later this year, will add new value to vast stores of unused data, Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president pledged on Wednesday.

Conservative MPs have voted against an amendment that would have required the government to negotiate continuing full membership of the EU's Erasmus+ programme, which helps students study in other countries.

The European Union's top research official telegraphed a message to the UK's Brexit negotiators: When it comes to a post-Brexit deal on research cooperation, there can be "no cherry picking."

The European Union's new innovation chief, Mariya Gabriel, wants to "revitalise" efforts to create a real single market for research, education and innovation, bridging the performance gap between eastern and western Europe.

The UK's share of EU research funding has fallen dramatically because of Brexit uncertainty, with the country's take home from the EU Horizon 2020 programme cut by almost €500 million since 2015, according an analysis by the Royal Society.

A major push by science funding agencies in Europe to make the research they back freely available at the point of publication is the world's best chance of fundamentally altering scientific publishing, says the new coordinator of Plan S, Johan Rooryck.

In the aftermath of the European elections, the calculators are starting to come out in labs and universities around Europe that depend on the EU for research funding: Will it mean more or less money for science and technology? The answer so far: fuzzy maths.

EU Commissioners approved on 30 April details of an experimental new "matrix" design for their research policy department, which its chief says will force staff to work together across bureaucratic lines. "This is really about establishing an agile, modern, cross-cutting administration, which really can elaborate policies and projects differently," said Jean-Eric Paquet, director-general of DG Research and Innovation, known as DG RTD.

According to the latest data from the European University Association (EUA), only few higher education institutions have policies on research data management in place. 

UK-based researchers won the largest share of 222 advanced research grants announced by the European Research Council on 28 March. The grants have a total value of €540 million.

The upcoming European Parliament elections that will shape EU politics for the next five years and beyond will be fought on many issues, including science.

In creating a new innovation council, the European Commission is experimenting not just in policy but also in management.

EU research chief Jean-Eric Paquet lays plans to refocus staff on policy goals, efficiency and cooperation with other parts of the Commission.

Commission concedes it will need more time to resolve long-term budget negotiations – but it remains committed to its plan boosting R&D subsidies