Europe’s research councils call for spending to be doubled to 0.25% of GDP

Europe’s medical research councils have made a strong plea for an increase in public funding to strengthen research in this area and prevent Europe falling further behind the United States.

The call for public funding of medical research in Europe to be doubled over the next decade so that it reaches a minimum level of 0.25% of gross domestic product (GDP) comes with the publication on 6 December of a white paper by the European Medical Research Councils (EMRC).

In concrete terms, this would mean increasing the €40 (£29; $59) per capita …