The European Research Council has published a White Paper and put forward explicit proposals to strengthen the success rates of grant applications from EU Member States that joined in 2004 or later. Mathematicians and neuroscience researchers make up the largest groups among Hungarian ERC grantees.
The White Paper of the Scientific Council of the European Research Council (ERC), titled "Widening excellence, Bridging the ERC gap for a truly pan-European Research Area", has been published. The document is an in-depth professional report, guideline and position paper presenting the ERC performance of Member States, and examining all related scientific and research policy activities. These include researchers’ willingness to apply, their progression to and attrition from evaluation rounds with data broken down by country (and in some cases also by discipline), as well as EU programmes that are available but have not yet been used by certain countries.
In the document, Hungary ranks highly in several respects, but only among the countries that joined in or after 2004. Compared to Austria, for example, Hungary wins roughly half as many ERC grants, which is similar to Finland’s performance. Hungary’s clear strengths are neuroscience and mathematics. The document in English is available HERE.
The East–West gap must be reduced, but not at the expense of scientific excellence.”
As the White Paper puts it: The Widening countries make up a quarter of the EU population and boast high levels of education and rapid economic growth, yet they secure barely one-twentieth of the ERC grants
and show a disproportionally lower success rate. This persistent imbalance is not a mere regional footnote but a symptom of a deeper divide that diminishes the continent’s collective scientific strength. In several Widening countries the situation has improved over the last decades. However, progress is slow and uneven. Unless addressed directly, this performance gap will entrench a two-tier research funding, and jeopardize Europe’s global competitiveness.
The 21-page document notes that several countries that became EU members following the historic 2004 enlargement have aligned their domestic funding expectations more closely with ERC standards. Since 2007, ten such countries have launched ERC-inspired national funding schemes, coordinated by organisations established along ERC lines. Examples cited include Poland’s National Science Centre and Greece’s Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (ELIDEK). (In Hungary, the National Research, Development and Innovation Office, established in 2014, operates with EU best practices in mind – ed.)
The position paper analyses in detail the factors that may underlie the lower performance of researchers from Widening countries in ERC competitions, presents actual success stories and best practices, and formulates recommendations for all stakeholders involved – governments, EU and national funding bodies, and the scientific community. It highlights, for example, that 15 later-joining Member States have programmes to support the implementation of ERC proposals that were rated as excellent but ultimately not funded, as well as initiatives to increase researchers’ willingness to apply and their success rates. (A similar mentoring programme has recently been launched in Hungary on the initiative of the Rényi Institute – renyi.hu's article dealing with this particular topic is available HERE.)
The White Paper also reminds the reader of several recent modifications to ERC application requirements that were introduced to broaden the applicant pool, support diversity, and avoid favouring specific research types or host institutions.
The document titled "Widening excellence, Bridging the ERC gap for a truly pan-European Research Area – ERC Scientific Council White Paper" is a relatively rare and thematically focused synthesis. The ERC Scientific Council does occasionally publish statements, position papers and strategic recommendations. (These include the 2017 statement on the future and independence of the ERC, as well as related content in annual reports and policy recommendations.) However, previous documents addressed this issue only fragmentally. The current White Paper serves both as a comprehensive overview and as a strategic signal ahead of the next EU framework programme, FP10, which will start on 1 January 2028. Planning is already underway this year, with final rules expected in 2026–2027, and the first FP10 calls anticipated in late 2027 or early 2028. The current programme, FP9 (Horizon Europe), runs until the end of 2027. The ERC Scientific Council has one Hungarian member. Andras Stipsicz is a full member of The Hungarian Academy of Sciences and director of Rényi Institute. |
The White Paper also highlights the role of ERC's evaluation panels, whose approximately 6,200 members reviewed some 15,500 main calls between 2007 and 2023. Experts from countries that joined the EU since 2004 made up 10% of panel members, with Hungary, Poland, Portugal and the Czech Republic leading this group. The ERC also provides financial support to National Contact Points (in Hungary, hosted by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences). The ERC Scientific Council places high expectations on the recently appointed ERC Ambassadors, whose role is to inspire local applicants, strengthen researchers’ willingness to apply, and identify new opportunities for scientific excellence.
Significant attention is devoted to showcasing Member State efforts that may increase both the quantity and quality of ERC applications. The Czech Republic is prominently featured: in 2024, Czech researchers achieved the highest success rate in ERC's Consolidator Grant calls. This followed the introduction of several targeted measures to support applicants, including bottom-up, structured, and timely preparation schemes that ensured only truly competitive proposals were submitted.
The White Paper also draws attention to the ERC Visiting Research Fellows Programme. Launched in 2016, the programme enables prospective ERC applicants to visit ERC research teams to prepare themselves to submit grant applications. The visits last between one and six months and visiting fellows must apply for an ERC grant within a specified timeframe. The success rates of
researchers who participated in the ERC Visiting Research Fellows or the Mentoring Initiative have been higher than those of their colleagues in the region. This is particularly relevant for Hungary, as the report notes that it is among the few countries where researchers have so far not taken advantage of this opportunity.
The newly published White Paper sets out specific recommendations for Widening countries, concerning their research and university environment, international competitiveness and the reduction of their researchers' administrative burdens. Best practices are also compiled in a 2026 collection (Actions by Widening Countries to Increase Success in ERC Calls – Good Practices (ERCEA 2026).)
The ERC itself makes commitments as well: it promises more intensive policy dialogues with national funding agencies and ministries in Widening countries, increased outreach to researchers, and stronger efforts through local ERC communities to identify top researchers and invite them to participate in evaluation panels.
The Scientific Council recognises that the research policies and investments of each EU Member State will remain the main factors influencing national research quality and competitiveness in ERC calls, and that the most effective solutions must largely be developed within Widening countries themselves. The Scientific Council is also resolute in its commitment to maintaining excellence as the sole criterion in ERC evaluations. At the same time, the ERC stands ready to contribute further and continue to cooperate closely with Member States in supporting outstanding researchers, while regularly sharing key lessons learned.