Brussels Cash Comes at Terrible Price

As cash-strapped UK science increasingly looks to Europe for funding, Yorick Wilks warns of a rotten framework of red tape, intellectual corruption and cronyism driven by bureaucrats in pursuit of personal agendas

A squeeze on UK research council funds is likely, which is something that is certain to make European Commission funds look more attractive to British academics. The time was, say some Russell Group academics, that they never bothered to apply for Commission grants, pointing to their markedly lower prestige in research assessment exercise ratings and the onerous paperwork involved. But you hear less of that talk these days, especially as the Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme for Research (FP7) funds are vast and show no signs of being cut during the ongoing financial crisis.

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