Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto, in a written answer on 13 July 2026, defended the removal of the 'Trust Your Stars' research project from Greece's Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), stating that the Greek authorities concluded the project was no longer achievable within the RRP's timeline. The answer, responding to a question by S&D MEP Nikolas Farantouris, shifts responsibility for any continued financing to the Greek government, noting that the Commission is not responsible for funding decisions on projects removed from the plan.
The project, with a total budget of €80.6 million, was originally included in Greece's RRP in 2022 as a flagship programme to support young researchers. Despite receiving 1,241 proposals, the project faced significant delays, and on 28 April 2026, Greece revoked its inclusion following a revision of the national plan. The Council approved the revised RRP on 17 July 2025, which removed 'Trust Your Stars' along with two other projects ('Visiting Professors / Researchers' and 'Industrial PhDs') and added a new project ('Postgraduate Study Programs with Foreign Universities'). The Greek authorities cited the high number of applications still under evaluation by external evaluators as the reason the project was no longer feasible given the limited implementation time.
The funds originally earmarked for 'Trust Your Stars' will be reallocated within the RRP to other measures, though Fitto did not specify exact destinations. The answer offers no concrete EU-level assistance for the affected researchers, leaving any support to national discretion. This stance underscores the division between EU-level oversight of RRP milestones and national sovereignty over project selection and execution. The Commission's hands-off approach may disappoint the academic community and researchers left in limbo, while reinforcing member state control over RRP implementation details. No further institutional follow-up is expected from the Commission on this matter.