The Trump administration’s impact extends beyond American research, sending shockwaves through laboratories in Europe, and indirectly affecting the scientific community in Romania.
### Current Situation in the U.S.
Trump’s proposed budget cuts target major research agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), NASA, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), suggesting reductions of up to 40-56% from current levels. Although Congress has moderated some of these proposals, the resulting climate of uncertainty has already led to canceled grants, frozen positions, and thousands of researchers being laid off or driven to seek opportunities in other countries.
In tandem with these budget reductions, the White House is tightening visa regulations, affecting various categories from H-1B to restrictions on citizens from numerous „high-risk” countries. This creates barriers for foreign scientists wishing to enter the U.S. or extend their stays, compounding the effects of reduced funding. Together, these two factors—less funding and stricter borders—are causing significant ripples globally.
### Effects in Europe
For years, Europe has been a crucial partner in American research, spanning areas from global health to high-energy physics. As the U.S. cuts back on NIH and other agencies, collaborative projects suffer: some consortia lose their American partners, while others face underfunded clinical studies or vaccine developments for rare diseases. According to analyses, Europe would need to increase its research investments by as much as €150 billion annually to fully compensate for American funding shortfalls—a scenario deemed unrealistic by both the EU and national capitals. While programs like Horizon Europe aim to redirect some funding toward affected themes, such initiatives are viewed as „derisory and unrealistic” by French research unions when compared to the scale of the problem.
### Collaborative Efforts and Big Science
In physics and astronomy, cuts proposed for large infrastructure projects place additional pressure on joint initiatives like CERN. Trump’s budget plans threaten U.S. contributions to the Geneva accelerator, raising questions about whether the U.S. can still be considered a reliable partner in „big science.” The absence of American engineers and funding could slow upgrades for the Large Hadron Collider and future particle machines, complicating the EU’s efforts to update its own particle physics strategy.
Meanwhile, European institutions are beginning to revise their internal regulations to enhance resilience against shocks akin to those brought on by U.S. policies—implementing independent evaluations and exploring funding models that are less reliant on a single government budget.
### Europe as a Scientific Refuge
The upheaval in American research has created an opportunity for the EU to position itself as a haven for scientists disillusioned by Trump’s policies. From Paris to Brussels, officials are advocating for „scientific asylum,” launching special programs offering dedicated grants and relocation packages for entire research teams. President Macron, for instance, has openly invited U.S. researchers to „choose France,” while the European Research Council has doubled its relocation budget to about €2 million for each researcher willing to relocate to the EU. The UK is also preparing a package of approximately £50 million to fund grants and relocation costs for scientists, largely from the U.S.
However, not all European universities are financially equipped to absorb an influx of refugees; many are grappling with „significant cuts” to their own budgets and deem it „financially impossible” to host all researchers seeking refuge. Thus, Europe finds itself in a paradoxical situation: it seeks to attract talent while many institutions remain underfunded.
### Romania’s Position in the Shift
Romania may not be at the forefront of the flow of American researchers looking for refuge, but it holds a sensitive position both as a part of the EU and as a supplier of talent to the American job market. Politically, Romania has signed letters to the European Commission advocating for funding and an immigration framework aimed at researchers seeking to leave the U.S.
This stance serves two purposes: it enhances Romania’s profile as a proponent of academic freedom and international collaboration, while simultaneously opening avenues to attract back home Romanian researchers with American lab experience through mechanisms like the ERC or Marie Skłodowska Curie programs.
### Impact on the Romanian Scientific Diaspora
On a human level, the shifts in U.S. policy also affect Romanians working or studying in America. Previous discussions have primarily focused on seasonal workers with H-2B visas. However, ethnographic studies indicate that Trump-era visa changes significantly altered daily life for these individuals, increasing bureaucratic hurdles while generating feelings of insecurity.
Especially for postdoctoral and doctoral students—many of whom are Romanian—new barriers to H-1B visas and other permits, combined with anti-immigration rhetoric, make European alternatives more appealing. Programs like Marie Curie or ERC grants in pan-European consortia emerge as attractive options, even if they don’t fully match the compensation and infrastructure of top American universities.
### What Lies Ahead
If Trump’s budget cuts endure and America remains less open to foreign talent, Europe—including Romania—stands to gain and lose simultaneously. Gains could come from attracting top researchers and strengthening collaborations, while losses may stem from the retardation of global projects reliant on American funding and infrastructure.
For Bucharest, the key question is whether it will remain a mere signatory of collective letters from Brussels or seize the U.S. crisis as a strategic opportunity: implementing „brain repatriation” policies, providing funding packages for returning Romanian researchers, and actively participating in European programs striving to fill the void left by Washington.