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The targeted university funding is a dramatic change in Germany, where decades of egalitarian policies have sought to ensure equal access to universities nationwide and "elitism" has been taboo.

In a conversation with Science before taking office, Potocnik stressed that research is an indispensable part of the Lisbon Strategy, a 10-year plan endorsed by European leaders in 2000 that calls for sustainable economic growth in balance with environmental protection and Europe's traditionally generous social policies.

The €1.7 billion a year planned for the ERC is the result of an unprecedented grassroots movement initiated by scientists just 3 years ago.