The European Research Council says it asked Mauro Ferrari to resign because he did not appreciate the EU funding agency’s “raison d’être.” By Nicholas WallaceScience’s COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Pulitzer Center.Leaders at the European Research Council (ERC) have hit back at its former president, who caused an uproar yesterday by resigning barely 3 months into the job.In a letter published by the Financial Times, Mauro Ferrari said he had “lost faith in the system,” and was stepping down to protest the ERC Science Council’s refusal to create a special program for COVID-19 research.
But 19 science council members, who oversee the EU funding agency, said in a statement today that Ferrari was forced out for missing meetings and