Grapevine

EU eyes more research to reclaim global science lead

The European Union's chief on Tuesday warned that the continent was "losing ground" in the global technology race and must boost research spending to "turn the tide".

"We must put research and innovation at the heart of Europe's economy," EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen told a ceremony celebrating the 70th anniversary of Europe's CERN physics laboratory.

"Just like 70 years ago, we live in times of rising geopolitical competition," she told the ceremony, attended by dignitaries, including Princess Astrid of Belgium and the presidents of Italy, Serbia and Slovakia.

"We are in the midst of a global race for the technologies that will shape the world of tomorrow, from clean tech to quantum, from AI to fusion," Von der Leyen said, lamenting that "while Europe is home to more researchers than both the US and China, we are losing ground in many fields".