Europe's COVID-19 Spread Continues... EU Science Agency Head Resigns Amid Disagreements

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Mauro Ferrari, the head of the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union (EU), reportedly resigned after clashing with the EU over the response to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), foreign media reported on the 7th (local time).

According to reports, Ferrari submitted his resignation to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, on the afternoon of the same day. In a statement sent to a foreign media outlet, he said that he proposed creating a large-scale research program to tackle COVID-19, but the EU did not accept it.

Ferrari said, "I am very disappointed with the EU's response to COVID-19," adding, "I was a passionate supporter of the EU until I took office at the ERC, but the COVID-19 crisis completely changed my perspective." The ERC is an organization established in 2007 to support basic research, providing support to scientists with an annual budget of around 2 billion euros.

Ferrari, an Italian-American who began his term as ERC President on January 1, said, "I proposed a special ERC program to fight COVID-19," and added, "At times like this, I believed that the world's top scientists should be given resources and opportunities to develop new drugs, vaccines, and diagnostic tools."

However, Ferrari revealed that the ERC Scientific Council unanimously rejected this proposal. He said the council stated that top-down research project support does not align with the purpose of the ERC, and that a bottom-up approach, where scientists start research and then receive support, is more appropriate.

Ferrari pointed out the lack of cooperation in healthcare policies among EU member states, the repeated refusal of cohesive financial support, and the widespread unilateral implementation of border closures as problems. While continuing his concurrent position as a professor at the University of Washington School of Pharmacy in Seattle, USA, he plans to organize international joint research to respond to COVID-19.