Right-wing extremist governments are planning billions in cuts to research in Europe

Right-wing extremist governments are planning billions in cuts to research in Europe

A surge in right-wing parties entering governments across Europe raises concerns for science. These parties, whose focus is mostly on immigration, show little interest in research, according to political experts. In the Netherlands, where the Party for Freedom (PVV) led by anti-Islam firebrand Geert Wilders formed a coalition government in July, researchers are preparing for 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in budget cuts, the worst in decades.

“We are talking about historic cuts,” says Caspar van den Berg, president of the umbrella organization of universities in the Netherlands. “It’s really striking how hard research, education and innovation are being hit across all sectors.”

Italy, Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia have also elected governments that include right-wing parties. Have in June populist parties made gains in the European Parliament elections. And in September, the Freedom Party of Austria led the polls in a state election.

Although there are exceptions, according to Léonie de Jonge of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, these parties typically have no interest in research and innovation, leaving scientists vulnerable to cuts.

Drastic cuts

The Netherlands, which is above average in global science, is among the nations experiencing drastic changes in its research system. The government's budget, published last month, proposed almost €1 billion a year in cuts to universities and research and cut support for research grants for early career researchers, open science and international students.

The cuts are equivalent to eliminating about one large university in a country that only has 14 universities, says van den Berg. Several universities have already frozen the hiring of new employees in the summer. The University of Amsterdam has described the cuts as the biggest since the 1980s.

One of the biggest casualties of the budget are the scholarships for start-ups and incentives introduced in 2022 to provide new and existing scientists with one-off grants of 300,000 euros, for example to hire doctoral students and laboratory assistants.

“The aim of these grants was to create space for independent, curiosity-driven research while reducing work pressure,” says Eddie Brummelman, chairman of the Young Academy, a science-policy group in Amsterdam. Dutch academics have repeatedly gone on strike in recent years to draw attention to the heavy workload.

But without these funds, young academics will be even more dependent on competitive grants from industry and the already overburdened Netherlands Research Council (NWO), he adds.

The NWO is also facing cuts: the changes remove 30 million euros annually from its budget for scientific infrastructure. Its funding for open science will be halved.

In a separate package of cuts, the new government cut the final tranches of the Netherlands' National Growth Fund, which supported green hydrogen projects and medical research, saving 6.8 billion euros.

Focus on immigration

International students are also in the government’s sights. The coalition wants to reduce enrollment numbers and is cutting almost 300 million euros from higher education budgets to ensure this.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science explained that the government had decided to prioritize the areas of security, healthcare and ensuring “that people have more money in their pockets” (the government is cutting income tax). “Unfortunately, to make this possible, cuts will be necessary in many areas, including education and science.”

The Dutch parliament is considering a 'balanced internationalization' law aimed at countering the growth of English-language teaching and research that has helped attract international talent.

To alarm universities, if the law is passed, all bachelor's programs would be required to obtain permission to be taught in English or another foreign language.

How many courses could be forced to switch to Dutch is still unclear, says van den Berg. But this move could trigger an exodus of foreign academics who do not want or cannot teach in this language. “There is a fear of an outflow of the most talented people,” he adds.

The policies are consistent with the goals of parties whose central issue is immigration, says de Jonge. “At the end of the day, that’s the only thing they care about,” she says. “Your voters don’t care about innovation.”

Although indifference to research is a concern, such parties are also often hostile to universities, which are seen as a bastion of left-wing "indoctrination," she adds, making higher education a tempting target for cuts.

Neglect of science

In Italy, where the right-wing party Brothers of Italy came to power under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in 2022, university funding was effectively cut by about 500 million euros this year, resulting in a budget of around 9 billion euros, according to a spokesman for the Conference of Italian University Rectors. A government spokesman responded that a large part of this decline was due to funding being brought forward to 2023.

The neglect of science is not always limited to the far right. France's new center-right government has disappointed scientists by scrapping long-term budget increases as it tries to reduce the national debt.

But the rise of far-right parties obsessed with immigration bodes particularly dire for research, says Robert-Jan Smits, president of the board of Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. “These are single-issue parties,” he says. “In terms of science, they don’t really seem to care, and they don’t have politics.”