‘Lost faith’: EU’s top scientist Mauro Ferrari quits over coronavirus response
- European Research Council’s Mauro Ferrari had proposed a special programme to combat Covid-19, but was rejected
- Resignation comes at a critical juncture for Europe as it fights pandemic
The head of the European Union’s top science organisation has resigned in frustration at the height of the coronavirus crisis.
Mauro Ferrari had only become president of the European Research Council on January 1, but EU Commission spokesman Johannes Bahrke said that “Professor Ferrari resigned”, effective immediately.
The sudden resignation of Ferrari and his stinging criticism was bound to add pressure on EU institutions, which have been accused of not working together to battle the global pandemic.
The news was first announced by the Financial Times, based on a statement released to the paper by Ferrari, who said he had “been extremely disappointed by the European response” to the pandemic. He complained about running into institutional and political obstacles as he sought to swiftly set up a scientific programme to combat the virus.
“I have seen enough of both the governance of science, and the political operations at the European Union,” he wrote. “I have lost faith in the system itself.”
