The EU’s top science funder @ERC_Research today accused its departing chief Mauro Ferrari of being “economical with the truth” in his account of the breakdown in relations at the agency that led to his resignation. Here’s a thread @POLITICOEurope

Among reasons for wanting him gone, @ERC_Research said Ferrari had 'a complete lack of appreciation for the raison-d’être of the ERC to support excellent frontier science,' displayed 'a lack of engagement' with the institution and had been physically absent — largely in the US

@ERC_Research concurred it did not support Ferrari's call for a special initiative on #COVID19, but said that was not among the reasons why on Friday March 27, all 19 members of the ERC’s Scientific Council unanimously requested that Ferrari resign from his position

A Commission spokesperson said Ferrari’s account (repeated in an interview with @POLITICOEurope) that President Ursula von der Leyen personally reached out to him asking for input on how the #coronavirus pandemic might be addressed was categorically untrue

In the early hours of Wednesday, Mauro Ferrari told me in an email he considers it an amicable separation — 'happy me and happy them, who were clearly looking for something else than what I could provide,' he wrote of @ERC_Research

On the phone from an Airbnb in Houston, Ferrari said it was a hard decision but 'rather than sit there and try to find a way to justify my mistake in joining this organization' he would 'try to be helpful somewhere else.' He said he plans to work on new #COVID19 treatments

Ferrari hinted he felt helpless @ERC_Research. 'I thought in a situation like this, the house is on fire, my instincts were to get people out.' He described his 'great sense of urgency, responsibility' in getting funding to 'great minds.' Described scientists as 'the A team'

Of need for #EU coordination on healthcare, borders and funding, Ferrari said 'these are the actions that show if you are truly in favor of a united Europe or not, and that is the divergence between my position and what I see happening in the great halls of Brussels' #COVID19

But Ferrari was glowing with praise for @ERC_Research, describing Scientific Council as 'great people'. 'You can respect people and disagree with them, and that’s essentially what happened,' he said. He said he received a verbal request to resign, but would have gone anyway

Ferrari presented a stark account of his past month, which he said included 8 days holed up in a hotel in Denver with suspected #coronavirus. He gave an account of cycling 15km to drive-thru test center, waiting in line with fever as they worked out how to test someone on bike

Ferrari said he is so far unable to return to his home in Brussels because of the travel bans and coronavirus lockdowns — 'frankly i would be very happy to see my wife again' — but will announce his new effort focused on the #coronavirus in the coming days

Among the reactions to Ferrari's departure, Robert-Jan Smits, former DG Research @EU_Commission said 'Ferrari was just the wrong man for this job. Being a top scientist is not a guarantee for being a good leader of a scientific organization ... The ERC deserves better'

Read Ferrari’s statement on his resignation first published by @ftbrussels here https://www.politico.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Ferrari-statement.pdf

Read @ERC_Research statement in full here https://erc.europa.eu/news/resignation-mauro-ferrari-%E2%80%93-statement-scientific-council

Read @POLITICOEurope coverage here https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-science-agency-closes-ranks-after-chief-departs/

And finally, read the authoritative story on Europe's response to the #coronavirus crisis so far from my @POLITICOEurope colleagues @swheaton @herszenhorn here https://www.politico.eu/article/coronavirus-europe-failed-the-test/