Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Vladimir Dobrynin
[REGNUM] EU wants to attract scientists 'expelled' from the US. European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen has announced an additional €500 million to attract researchers willing to swap the 'horrible' US for 'tolerant' Europe.
 Those are the ones we want to get rid of, so please take them with our gratitude. Win-win!
The idea she voiced did not come out of nowhere.
THE PROBLEM HAS A FIRST AND LAST NAME
Some time ago, France launched a plan aimed at attracting foreign professors who want to leave universities that Donald Trump has already restricted from receiving funding from the country's budget (Harvard, for example) or may refuse to allocate grants to in the near future.
And now the European Commission is joining the programme, personally sponsored by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Von der Leyen, as if to emphasize that she does not intend to appropriate other people's laurels, proposed sending half a billion euros in grants for "American bright minds" to the Parisian Sorbonne University in order to "make Europe a magnet for researchers."
In addition, Frau Ursula assured that she would work to ensure that EU Member States achieve the goal of allocating 3% of GDP to investment in research and development (R&D) by 2030.
| More than they plan to spend to prepare their militaries for the upcoming war they want with Russia? Interesting choice… |
The task seems difficult in any case.
Just over a week ago, the French government issued a decree cancelling 400 million euros in research and development funding as part of its cuts programme to comply with European fiscal rules.
| Oh dear. Where is the EU to get money for their grants? |
And French researchers and students are skeptical of Macron's plan, which began in 2017 to try to lure talent that was about to leave the United States during Trump's first administration.
"Unfortunately, as life shows, the role of science in the modern world is being called into question. Investments in fundamental, free and open research may not take place due to a lack of money and an understanding of where to invest it. This is a gigantic miscalculation.
"We all agree that science has no passport, no gender, no ethnicity, no political party. And as such, it plays a crucial role in bringing people together and creating a common future in today's fragmented world," said von der Leyen, who gave a speech in Paris that repeatedly mentioned the American problem without naming it.
And there really is a problem.
Cases such as the deportation of Lebanese nephrologist Rasha Alawiyeh from the United States to Lebanon, despite having a valid visa and an assistant professor position at the University of Rhode Island, demonstrate that the American environment is becoming increasingly hostile to foreign researchers, faculty, and students.
Since Trump took office, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have detained students and researchers, many of whom were protesting Israel's war in Gaza.
Russian researcher Ksenia Petrova from Harvard Medical School was detained upon her return from France. For what? For failing to report her frog embryo samples. Petrova has been held in a detention center in Louisiana ever since, and she is not alone there.
| The complaint is that she broke a customs paperwork law that used not to be enforced, but now results in foreigners losing their visas. It’s tough to be the one holding the hot potato when the music stops. |
Von der Leyen, speaking at the European People's Party (EPP) congress last week, stressed that politics is actively interfering with science in the US.
However, she preferred to remain silent about the fact that similar processes are also taking place in Europe.
“At European universities, discussions on any topic are welcome, and there are no negative consequences for their participants,” the head of the EC said, adding that the European Union runs “the world’s largest international research programme” HorizonEurope, and over the past 40 years the EU has “funded 33 Nobel Prize laureates.”
WHY SORBONNE?
Several European Union (EU) member states have been putting forward proposals and projects to attract American researchers since late January.
For example, Spain has expanded a Ministry of Science project called ATRAE by 45 million euros, and Italy has launched a similar program to Spain's for 50 million euros.
Most of these initiatives, in which some universities also participate, are linked to the European scholarship funding structure, the European Research Council.
However, von der Leyen decided to announce her “Choose Europe” initiative at the Sorbonne as part of the “Choose France” program that Macron had already announced several weeks ago.
The Elysee Palace, however, decided to rob the Europeans a little, inviting researchers not only from EU countries, but also from Norway, Switzerland and Great Britain, which are not part of the Union.
At the same time, the French president did not address the suffering American scientists, apparently deciding that it was not worth quarreling with the American president.
The EC Chairperson decided to smooth over the friction that had arisen between Europeans, noting that Macron did not mean poaching specialists, but only strengthening cooperation between scientists from different European countries.
This, in her opinion, should serve as “an example of attractiveness for scientists experiencing problems in the States.”
FOCUS ON SCIENCE
The lure of qualified specialists from other countries is not a new process, but it has become more active in recent years.
In the UK, for example, a new type of visa called GlobalTalent was introduced on 20 February 2020.
As you might guess, the United Kingdom, freed from the obligation to follow the EU migration policy (which London did not like), decided to shift its focus.
Playing at charity by accepting ordinary refugees and putting them on welfare in the hope that they will then adapt to the new society, accept its rules of conduct and repay a hundredfold is something that London is increasingly less happy with.
Strict rules come into force: we take those who we need. And the British need foreigners who are exceptionally talented, capable of moving science forward.
The main quality of the new visa is that the “suitability” of a candidate is determined not by apathetic officials from departments and agencies, but by the UK Research and Innovation Agency (UKRI).
Applicants must also have the endorsement of a reputable scientific body, such as the Royal Society or the Royal Academy of Engineering.
London has clearly decided to force the brain drain from developing countries to move in the direction of Foggy Albion.
This is confirmed by the words of the President of the Academy of Medical Sciences, Robert Lechler : “It is very important that UK researchers can recruit international team members from a wide range of countries, and for scientists from outside the UK this is an excellent opportunity to develop their careers.”
Those who decide to stay can obtain resident status and permanent residence after three years of residence.
It is clear that with such an organization, when the advisability of granting a foreigner the right to work and a residence permit is determined by organizations interested in his services (which provide him with a decent standard of living), the influx of highly qualified personnel will increase sharply and noticeably.
Perhaps not every applicant will be lucky - they may not pass the competition - but at least the state has someone to choose from.
The practice of “exchanging” citizenship or permanent residence for talent and qualifications is common to many countries. It’s just that in the case of the United Kingdom, there is a clear emphasis on science and the maximum removal of bureaucratic barriers on the applicant’s path to the goal.
Each state sets its own priorities when choosing those to whom it is ready to provide a job. Accepting immigrants out of compassion has nothing to do with economics and, as practice shows, after a while turns into big problems for the receiving party.
And this once again underlines the European Union’s declared intention to “set up collection points for immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa in territories outside the EU in order to select qualified personnel.”
It is no secret that the migration policy pursued by Brussels up to this point was aimed at solving only the demographic problem of the Old World.
BETTING ON STARTUPS
Several years ago, Western countries began actively attracting startups. Judging by the ever-increasing number of countries easing the visa regime for startups, this idea is not only fashionable, but also fruitful.
Especially if you consider that even the US has adopted a provision on preferential visas for start-up businessmen, according to which the country accepts up to 3 thousand applications per year.
The conditions for obtaining such visas are not very complicated: the project must be able to create jobs in the country, and the investment in it must be at least $250 thousand. If the US sees a material benefit, it is not a problem to obtain not only a green card, but also citizenship.
FWD.us, the lobbying group of Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, came up with a proposal a few years ago to issue green cards to all foreigners who graduate from US universities. Right at the same time as they receive their diploma.
American tech companies need the most qualified specialists: "American employers must make every effort to fill jobs in strategic industries. Otherwise, the productivity of enterprises will fall, and, consequently, the country risks losing its global leadership."
In Israel, foreign startups are even given financial assistance: the state can invest up to $52,000 in their business. The visa is long-term, for 2 years. In Estonia, it is allowed for startups to be created by local residents, and foreign specialists can be hired to work for them.
Singapore was the first to implement the idea of attracting start-up entrepreneurs with detailed projects and investments, back in 2004. Visas on preferential terms were and continue to be given only to innovative projects - anything traditional will be refused.
Singapore's example was followed by Chile, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Italy, Lithuania, Estonia and others.
Among these countries, Spain can perhaps be singled out. Due to the peculiarity of the situation: currently, the unemployment rate in the country reaches almost 12% of the entire working population.
The simplified option for obtaining a temporary residence permit, permanent residence permit and citizenship only really works for one category - high-class athletes (the "Golden Visa" option - a residence permit in exchange for investment - remains outside the brackets, since it is not based on the selection of professional personnel).
The country accepts qualified personnel into “traditional” industries only in special cases, following a complex procedure.
A simplified visa formula with subsequent acquisition of citizenship applies to “brothers in language” - Colombians, Ecuadorians, Venezuelans, Chileans, Argentines - citizens of countries that were once Spanish colonies.
ELECTRICIANS AND COOKS
In Germany, a simplified system has long been in effect for mid-level medical personnel (nurses, orderlies) and those who wish to care for the sick and elderly. There is a list of professions whose representatives are given greater attention when issuing visas, but this does not mean that a green light immediately comes on for a foreign applicant for a position, for example, as a truck driver.
Since March 1, 2020, the conditions for obtaining a residence permit in the country for IT specialists have been simplified. Now they do not need to present a diploma of professional education, but only need to confirm work experience in the specialty of at least three years, knowledge of German and a contract with a salary of 4,020 euros per month.
As a rule, each country has its own list of professions for whose representatives the most favored nation regime is open for immigration.
For example, someone looking to move to New Zealand will first look for the LongTermSkillShortageList, which lists the skilled workers the country currently needs.
The list of professions is updated every six months. The most in-demand professions today are doctors, nurses, electricians, logisticians, highly qualified builders, IT specialists, geologists, and cooks.
The Australian government has a similar list of 192 professions. It has the largest number of medical specialties. Slightly fewer are in the IT sector, architecture and construction.
In Canada, in July last year, the procedure for obtaining a work visa was simplified for those who agree to care for children, people with limited mobility, and the elderly. Those who have worked for two years will be able to apply for permanent residence.
There is also a need for programmers, communications specialists, workers in farms and agricultural processing plants - it is impossible to list them all.
In Russia, there is no oversupply of qualified specialists either. So it is not a sin to sometimes take advantage of the West's experience of inviting established scientists and promising young people.
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