Protests and alarm as European research sector braces for cuts

Last week, several organisations representing the Swiss research sector held a joint press conference to decry proposed cuts to the country’s education and innovation budgets. It came after Switzerland’s Federal Council opened a consultation on a ‘relief package’ comprising almost 60 measures designed to reduce annual federal expenditure by around CHF3 billion (£2.6 billion) by 2027. The measures included cuts to the budgets of research funding organisations and reduced support to higher education institutions.

The cuts are part of a recent pattern of governments across Europe proposing reductions to research funding. It’s a trend that has science organisations worried, with several warning that long-term damage to the sector could be caused by short-term actions taken as governments attempt to balance the books.