Europe is thinking of doing its own thing and moving away from depending on America when it comes to science. Now, the burning question is, “Can they do it?” Europe is not as skilled or talented as America in terms of scientific knowledge and applications. But you know what they say: never say never. The globe has been searching across the Atlantic for the newest scientific leadership, technological collaborations, and discoveries for decades. American institutions and labs have frequently been at the forefront of international advancement, from space exploration to medical research.
As the U.S. retreats, Europe develops its own climate data networks
European governments are taking steps to break their dependence on critical scientific data that the United States historically made freely available to the world and are ramping up their own data collection systems to monitor climate change and weather extremes, according to Reuters interviews. The effort, which has not been previously reported, marks the most concrete response from the EU and other European governments.
Since his return to the White House, Trump has initiated sweeping budget cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Centres for Disease Control and other agencies, dismantling programs conducting climate, weather, geospatial and health research, and taking some public databases offline.
As data shortages jeopardise climate resilience, the EU is looking for displaced U.S. experts
As those cuts take effect, European officials have expressed increasing alarm that, without continued access to U.S.-supported weather and climate data, governments and businesses will face challenges in planning for extreme weather events and long-term infrastructure investment, according to Reuters interviews. In March, more than a dozen European countries urged the EU Commission to move fast to recruit American scientists.
Scientists who lost their jobs to those cuts. Asked for comment on NOAA cuts and the EU’s moves to expand its own collection of scientific data, the White House Office of Management and Budget said Trump’s proposed cuts to the agency’s 2026 budget were aimed at programs that spread “fake Green New Scam ‘science,” a reference to climate change research and policy.
European officials told Reuters that, beyond the risk of losing access to data that is bedrock to the world’s understanding of climate change and marine systems, they were concerned by the general U.S. pullback from research. Sweden’s State Secretary for Education and Research ,Maria Nilsson, told Reuters,
“The current situation is much worse than we could have expected. My reaction is, quite frankly, shock.”
A shake-up to the research community in Europe
It took time to get motivated to break old habits. European politicians have been compelled to reconsider their reliance on America’s scientific infrastructure on a number of occasions in recent years. There has been increasing annoyance in Brussels and elsewhere due to issues ranging from strict limitations on knowledge sharing to disputes over funding large initiatives.
Europe wants to be like the science-independent nations like France, which spent $20 million to create plants that breathe for us. In the words of one policy adviser:
“We can’t keep waiting for handouts. Europe needs its own engines of discovery.”
According to a recent investigation, access to U.S.-controlled data and research networks has occasionally been difficult for European experts. Universities and businesses now have to deal with delays or abrupt policy changes as a result. Technology-wise, Europe is pushing after the UK launches a $1.3B plan to expand AI computing capacity. Students, scholars, and businesspeople will be closely monitoring if this new strategy results in greater freedom and fewer disturbances in the years to come. If Europe is successful, its labs and universities may attract ideas from all over the world.