European research funding still favors old members and old ideas

European research funding has made it easier for new countries to join projects, but it has not fixed the problem of older, richer countries getting most of the money. This means research topics stay focused on established areas, rather than exploring new ones.

The European Union has spent decades trying to get its newer, poorer member states to catch up in research and development. This paper shows that even with collaborative funding, the core-periphery problem persists. It also means that the EU's research money is not pushing scientists to explore truly new ideas, but rather reinforcing existing research paths.