Late last month, the Spanish government took control over higher education and research institutes in Catalonia. After much political turmoil, Catolonia declared its unilateral independence on October 27, and now, after dimissing the Catalan government, the government of Spain will be in charge of decisions relating to Catalonian research centers and universities. Specifically, the Madrid-based Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport will oversee Catalan universities, while the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness will take over research policy, effective immediately.

Catalonia is a research-intensive region, with universities in the region winning 210 grants totaling €334 million ($391.8 million) from the European Research Council between 2007 and 2015. For the past 32 years, the Catalan government established and financed university budgets in the region. Out of an approximately €1 billion budget for universities and science research, universities were allocated around €700 million ($814 million) in 2017.

Source: Nature