EU’S top scientist resigns ‘deeply disturbed’ at pandemic handling

AN EXTRAORDINARY public row broke out between the EU and its former top scientist last night after he resigned with an attack on Brussels’ response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Prof Mauro Ferrari quit as president of the European Research Council with a statement in which he accused the bloc’s officials of thwarting his plans to deal with the crisis.

However, his former employer hit back immediately, accusing the Italian scientist of being “at best economical with the truth” and questioning his commitment to the role.

Prof Ferrari, who only took up the job three months ago, said he had been “deeply disappointed and disturbed” by the EU’S reaction to the pandemic, which he called “a tragedy of possibly unprecedented proportions”. He said that his “idealistic motivations were crushed by a very different reality” and that while “I arrived at the ERC a fervent supporter of the EU, the Covid-19 crisis completely changed my views”.

However, in an equally damning response, the ERC said that its 19-strong board had already asked for Prof Ferrari’s resignation on Friday after concluding that he was not up to the job.

It said he had “displayed a complete lack of appreciation for the raison d’être” of the organisation and had missed “many important meetings” to spend time in the US.

The scientific body was also enraged the Italian had gone over the heads of the board and taken “personal initiatives” directly to Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, thus “using his position to promote his own ideas”.

A spokesman for Mrs von der Leyen said she “regretted” Prof Ferrari’s departure and insisted that he had approached her with his proposals.

The row came as the Commission president was forced to delay a plan for the coordinated lifting of coronavirus lockdowns across Europe after a furious dressing down from EU capitals.

She planned to unveil the strategy, which advises member states how to roll back restrictions, yesterday but faced resistance from countries battling the pandemic.

The document, seen by The Daily Telegraph, is a detailed blueprint Eurocrats want all EU countries to adopt.

It states confinement measures have “come at dramatic costs for our economy and society and cannot last indefinitely” but warns that “the way back to normality will still require significant time”.

‘I arrived at the ERC a fervent supporter of the EU. The Covid-19 crisis completely changed my view’