Nominations have opened for the next President of the European Research Council (ERC), with EU research organisations invited to put forward candidates by 23 November 2026.
The successful candidate will take up the post on 1 October 2027 and succeed Professor Maria Leptin, the European Commission announced on Thursday.
The role comes with a four-year mandate that can be renewed once.
The ERC is the EU’s main funding body for “frontier research” — research driven by curiosity and new ideas rather than immediate applications — and the President is expected to represent European science internationally.
The President will chair the ERC’s 22-member Scientific Council and devote at least 80% of their working time to ERC duties in Brussels.
Selection panel to draw up shortlist
An independent selection committee has been set up to identify three leading candidates, and it will be chaired by Pearl Dykstra, a professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam and former deputy chair of the Commission’s Group of Chief Scientific Advisors, the Commission said.
Former Commission executive vice-president Margrethe Vestager is also on the committee.
EU research organisations can nominate up to three candidates each, and nominees must be EU nationals.
Commissioner for Start-ups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva said the next President “must be a strong voice for frontier research, scientific independence and Europe’s ability to attract and retain exceptional talent”.
The recruitment process and the chosen candidate must be approved by the ERC Scientific Council before the appointment is made by the Commission.
