A group of European countries is developing a strategy to attract American scientists in the wake of US layoffs, which could be the key to solving the personnel shortage in the European defense industry.

Politico reported on this after reviewing the relevant documents of the European Commission.

Governments of twelve countries are working on a strategy to recruit valuable scientific professionals from the United States, taking advantage of government cuts in science and education.

The countries have expressed the need for an “attraction boom” to attract talent from abroad, according to a letter to the European Commission seen by journalists.

The letter was addressed to Ekaterina Zakharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, and signed by representatives of France, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Spain, Slovenia, Germany, Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania.

It contained several proposals on how to attract researchers, including special funding, an immigration system, and strengthening partnerships with “other leading scientific countries.”

The United States is not directly mentioned in the document, but there are clear references to current processes in the country: “the current international context reminds us that freedom of science can be jeopardized anywhere and at any time.”

Since Donald Trump took office in January, the US science and education sector has been subject to large-scale cuts. The U.S. Department of Education has started to cut roughly half of its workforce, and several universities, including Johns Hopkins University, have cut jobs due to the loss of government funding.

Fresh blood for the European defense industry

Last month, the European Defense Agency said that the EU defense industry is facing a shortage of qualified personnel in the defense sector. The agency emphasized that it is trying to promote cooperation between industry, academia, and government to address the shortage of qualified personnel and develop key defense capabilities.

According to the agency’s research, the industry is experiencing a strong demand for digital specialists, including, first of all, specialists in the development of artificial intelligence and machine learning. It also includes autonomous control engineers, cybersecurity specialists, data and information processing engineers, and software developers.

“This is definitely the period with the most intense search for new employees in Leonardo’s history – even more intense than during previous conflicts,” Leonardo, an Italian aerospace and defense company with 53,000 employees worldwide, stated.

In 2023, the EU defense industry provided about 581,000 jobs and had a financial turnover of EUR 158.8 billion. This figure is expected to continue to grow as the continent rearms itself to ensure peace and security in an increasingly multipolar world.