{"id":65418,"date":"2020-04-08T12:44:27","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T12:44:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=65418"},"modified":"2020-04-08T12:44:30","modified_gmt":"2020-04-08T12:44:30","slug":"coronavirus-eu-top-scientist-forced-out-in-political-row","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/world-news\/coronavirus-eu-top-scientist-forced-out-in-political-row.html","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus: EU top scientist forced out in political row"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\nMauro Ferrari said he had lost faith in the system after he failed to set up a special programme to fight coronavirus.<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\nBut the research council said later his resignation followed a written, unanimous vote of no confidence.<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\nIt said it regretted Prof Ferrari’s comments.<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n“Since his appointment, Professor Ferrari displayed a lack of engagement with the ERC, failing to participate in many important meetings, spending extensive time in the USA and failing to defend the ERC’s programme and mission when representing the ERC,” it said in a statement.<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\nThe EU’s executive insisted it had the most comprehensive measures to combat the virus.<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\nOne MEP had earlier been quoted accusing Prof Ferrari of taking a “window-dressing public relations stand”.<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\nWho is Mauro Ferrari?<\/div>\n
\nMauro Ferrari is an Italian-American scientist known as a pioneer in the field of nanomedicine with decades of work in the US. When he took up the role as head of the European Research Council he stressed his commitment to serving society.<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\nIn a statement to the Financial Times and Corriere della Sera in Italy, he spoke of his commitment to the “idealistic dream of a United Europe… crushed by a very different reality”.<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\nAs the tragedy of the pandemic became clear Prof Ferrari says he pushed for a special programme directed at combating Covid-19, with the world’s best scientists having the resources to fight it with new drugs, vaccines, diagnostic tools and behavioural approaches based on sciences “to replace the oft-improvised intuitions of political leaders”.<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\nHis proposals were rejected unanimously, he said, by the council’s governing body because the ERC funded “bottom-up” research proposed by scientists themselves and did not see the beneficial impact on society as a justification for funding.<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\nData watchdog calls for single EU coronavirus app<\/div>\n
\nCoronavirus outbreak eats into EU unity<\/div>\n
\nProf Ferrari describes how he then worked directly with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and developed a plan which she contributed to.<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\nHowever, he complains his direct involvement with Mrs von der Leyen “created an internal political thunderstorm” and once it went to the different parts of the Commission he believes it “disintegrated upon impact”.<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\nThere are many questions surrounding the real reasons behind the resignation of Mauro Ferrari.<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\nYes, his stinging accusations about EU institutions weighed down by bureaucracy and internal politics ring true, but he will have known that before he agreed to become the bloc’s chief scientist.<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\nHe will have also known that EU countries have always fought to keep sovereignty over national health services, so it is odd that he singled the lack of public health co-ordination across the EU as another reason for his departure.<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\nIn fact, high-level insiders in the European Research agency tell me Mr Ferrari’s resignation was not voluntary. He was asked to leave, they say.<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\nThey say he was absent for half of the three months he was supposedly at the helm of the ERC, spending time instead in the US, where he has an affiliate professorship at Washington University as well as private interests in the pharmaceutical industry. He is listed on the board of directors at US biotech company Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals.<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\nMauro Ferrari announced he was now returning to the US to fight Covid-19 on the front line.<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\nThe ERC is eager to point out that many of its top scientists have already done that. It says virologists, epidemiologists and others who were doing basic research for them have now joined Covid research teams in other European Commission programmes.<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\nProfessor Ferrari’s personal ambitions clashed with the cumbersome structures of the EU, perhaps. A crying shame on all sides when all hands are needed on deck in Europe, the US and globally to help protect the general public from coronavirus.<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\nFor More Information<\/b><\/div>\n
\nClick Here<\/a><\/b><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t <\/div><\/div>\n\t\t