(Bloomberg) -- The European Union's top scientist resigned after his proposal to set up a program to fight Covid-19 was rejected, the Financial Times reported.
Mauro Ferrari, president of the European Research Council, submitted his resignation Tuesday, the FT said. Ferrari had started a four-year term at the institution at the beginning of the year.
Ferrari, who is credited as one of the pioneering founders of nanomedicine, proposed to set up a special ERC program to combat Covid-19, but said the ERC Scientific Council, its governing body, unanimously rejected the idea, according to the report.
“I have been extremely disappointed by the European response to Covid-19,” he said in a statement to the FT. “I arrived at the ERC a fervent supporter of the EU [but] the Covid-19 crisis completely changed my views, though the ideals of international collaboration I continue to support with enthusiasm.”
The ERC was set up in 2007 to encourage top-quality research in Europe through competitive funding, according to its website.
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