The first ERC Plus Grant competition opens
Backed by €210 million under the ‘Choose Europe’ initiative, announced by President Ursula von der Leyen at the Sorbonne in Paris in May 2025, the new grants aim to further help Europe retain and attract the world’s top scientific talent.
The ERC Plus Grants scheme, designed and implemented by the ERC, will provide up to €7 million per project for a maximum of seven years. The scheme targets outstanding researchers, of any nationality, with bold ideas capable of opening entirely new avenues of research and generating transformative scientific advances. Around 30 grants are expected to be awarded in this first competition.
Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, said:
‘Europe has all the ingredients to remain a global leader in science: world-class researchers, strong institutions, and a commitment to academic freedom. With the new ERC Plus Grants and the broader ‘Choose Europe’ initiative, we are ensuring that Europe not only retains its brightest minds, but also becomes the destination of choice for the best scientific talent worldwide.’
Maria Leptin, President of the European Research Council, said:
‘The ERC Plus Grants are set to give outstanding researchers in Europe and from further afield the chance to go after their most ambitious ideas, thanks to additional funds from the European Commission through the ‘Choose Europe’ initiative. The ERC Scientific Council looks forward to evaluating this pilot scheme. This is in line with the ERC international outlook and mission to make top science thrive in Europe.’
The new grants form part of a broader EU package for 2025-2027 under the “Choose Europe” initiative. In parallel, national and regional authorities across Europe are introducing new initiatives to attract international scientific talent. These measures include fellowship schemes, visiting researcher programmes and recruitment opportunities ranging from tenure-track positions to professorships and junior group leader roles.
Last year, the ERC increased its support for researchers moving to Europe. Applicants for Starting, Consolidator and Advanced Grants, currently based outside Europe, can since then request up to €2 million in additional funding to relocate their laboratory or research team to an EU Member State or a country associated with the ERC part of the Horizon Europe programme.
The increased support is already generating international interest. Although the vast majority of applicants for ERC funding come from Europe, the most recent ERC grant competitions have seen a sharp increase in applications from researchers based in the United States. In some calls, the number of US-based applicants was four times higher than in previous competitions.
About the ERC
The ERC, set up by the European Union in 2007, is the premier European funding organisation for excellent frontier research. It funds creative researchers of any nationality and age, to run projects based across Europe. The ERC offers four core grant schemes: Starting Grants, Consolidator Grants, Advanced Grants and Synergy Grants. With its additional Proof of Concept Grant scheme, the ERC helps grantees to bridge the gap between their pioneering research and early phases of its commercialisation. The ERC is led by an independent governing body, the Scientific Council. Since November 2021, Maria Leptin is the President of the ERC. The overall ERC budget from 2021 to 2027 is more than €16 billion, as part of the Horizon Europe programme, under the responsibility of European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, Ekaterina Zaharieva.
