European governments are accelerating efforts to reduce their reliance on U.S. scientific infrastructure amid widespread budget cuts to American research agencies. Alongside initiatives to independently monitor oceans and climate systems, the European Commission has launched a new €500 million programme—Choose Europe for Science—aimed at attracting displaced U.S. researchers to the continent.
The dual strategy reflects growing concern across the EU that years of dependence on freely available U.S. scientific data, particularly from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), now presents a vulnerability. Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has proposed deep cuts to scientific institutions, including a 27% reduction in NOAA’s budget and the planned dismantling of its Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research.
According to European officials interviewed by Reuters, the resulting loss of data on sea levels, ocean temperatures, and extreme weather presents both a technical and strategic risk. Marine data from U.S. systems underpin storm warnings, offshore energy operations, shipping routes and infrastructure investment decisions. NOAA alone provides over half of the world’s publicly accessible ocean measurements through programmes such as Argo and the Global Ocean Observing System.
In response, the EU is investing in domestic capabilities. A senior European Commission official confirmed that expansion of the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) is underway, with the aim of “mirroring and possibly replacing” U.S.-based services. Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Sweden are also conducting national reviews of their reliance on U.S. data systems. Denmark’s meteorological agency has begun backing up U.S. databases; Norway has allocated $2 million for secure data storage.
“The current situation is much worse than we could have expected,” said Maria Nilsson, Sweden’s State Secretary for Education and Research. “We are facing a historic break with American scientific leadership.”
At the same time, the EU is capitalising on the disruption to U.S. science by actively recruiting the very talent affected by the cuts. Launched in May at the Élysée Palace in Paris, the Choose Europe for Science programme commits €500 million between 2025 and 2027 to recruit researchers, particularly from the United States. Backed by the European Commission and supported by member states, the programme includes seven-year “super grants” and plans to double existing relocation support.
“Europe will always choose science,” said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the launch event. “We have the investment, the infrastructure, and the commitment to open and collaborative research.”
The initiative comes as U.S. institutions face significant disruption. Trump’s 2026 budget proposal would slash funding to the National Science Foundation by 56% and reduce National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding by 40%. Over 200 federal grants for research on HIV were cancelled in March. The NIH’s Ebola research facility was ordered to cease operations in April.
As a result, European institutions have reported a surge of interest from U.S. researchers. According to Nature Careers, applications by American scientists to overseas posts rose by 32% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, foreign interest in U.S. research positions has declined sharply.
Some EU countries are launching their own programmes to attract this talent. France’s Aix-Marseille University has created A Safe Place for Science, a €15 million project offering positions to scientists dismissed or constrained by political decisions in the U.S. In Germany, the Max Planck Society has established the Max Planck Transatlantic Programme, which will create joint research centres with U.S. institutions and consider dismissed American researchers for director-level roles.
Spain has also declared its intention to play a leading role in global scientific recruitment. Secretary of State Juan Cruz Cigudosa announced that Spain is reinforcing its ATRAE programme with €45 million to attract established researchers, particularly from the U.S., offering project support of €200,000. The Ramón y Cajal scheme, aimed at younger researchers, has doubled in scale since 2018 and now funds 500 positions annually—30% of which are filled by foreign scientists.
Across Europe, concern about the continuity of essential data persists. While some national meteorological institutes have downloaded historical U.S. datasets, there are limits to what can be preserved without continued updates. Adrian Lema of the Danish Meteorological Institute warned that weather models will degrade over time without access to new observations.
A movement known as “guerrilla archiving” has emerged, with researchers across Europe and the U.S. racing to salvage at-risk datasets. “We actually received emergency calls from our colleagues in the U.S., who said, ‘We have a problem here and we will have to abandon some datasets,’” said Frank Oliver Gloeckner of Germany’s PANGAEA archive.
The Commission has also confirmed that new legislation is being prepared to support scientific mobility within the EU. The forthcoming European Research Area Act will guarantee the free movement of data and researchers across the bloc, reducing administrative barriers and supporting collaborative science.
As Ursula von der Leyen concluded: “We want Europe to be a leader in priority technologies—from AI to quantum, space, semiconductors and digital health. We want scientists to choose Europe.”
With Trump’s policies driving a brain drain from the United States, the EU appears determined to seize the opportunity. The shift marks not only a rebalancing of global scientific leadership but a reassertion of Europe’s strategic independence in climate, health, and technological research.
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