Aristeidis Hatzis, a professor of philosophy of law and theory of institutions at the University of Athens, said in a Facebook post that young Greek scientists living abroad should stay there and that parents should not keep their children in Greece. He said a research funding program was cancelled the same day its results were announced.
Hatzis said that on July 22, 2025, the government's Diavgeia public records portal published the results of what he called the most ambitious research program ever launched in Greece. He said his team spent months preparing its application and waited more than a year for the outcome. His team was approved, along with roughly 80 to 90 other teams staffed almost exclusively by young scientists, he said.
Project removed the same day
According to a written response to a parliamentary question that Hatzis cited, the project was removed from Greece's National Recovery and Resilience Plan on that same day, July 22, 2025, at the request of the Ministry of Education, because it could not be completed within the timeline of the Recovery and Resilience Fund.
Hatzis said his team received no notification of the cancellation for a full year. He said officials only responded after he and colleagues collected signatures and sent formal legal notices demanding an explanation.
A dismissive response
Hatzis said the explanation he eventually received amounted to being told that the cancellation had already been announced on the same day as the results, so there was no obligation to inform them separately, respect their work, their expectations, their investment or their time.
He said a subsequent written response to a parliamentary question added what he described as insult to the damage already done. That response cited Article 40 of Law 5294/2026, under which, when a project's inclusion in the Recovery and Resilience Fund is revoked, the responsible ministry, in this case the Ministry of Education, is to arrange for the project's inclusion in its own Sectoral Development Program, within its approved budget, to meet any outstanding financial obligations arising from legal commitments made before the revocation.
No contracts, no obligation
Hatzis said the official who signed that response knew, or had been misled into not knowing, that no contracts had been signed following the announcement of the results. He said that meant the Ministry of Education had taken on no legal obligation toward the project, only what he called a moral one.
He said he spent the past year sending letters, messages and requests to officials, appealing for a resolution, but received no response. He wrote about the case in the newspaper Kathimerini and appeared on radio programs, and other academics also wrote about the matter, he said. He said the coverage was met with continued silence.
Thirty young researchers affected
Hatzis said a team of 30 young people had expected to live, work and contribute through the program, which was named "Trust Your Stars." He said he had personally assured them that the government would not treat researchers this way and that a solution would be found, and that he now considers himself responsible for encouraging them to stay in Greece and trust that assurance.
Continuing the work in London
Hatzis said he intends to continue his research regardless of the funding loss. He said he was leaving for London within hours of publishing his post to continue his work at his own expense, funded by his salary, which he described as his only source of income.
He said he plans to share what resources he brings back with fellow researchers, and in particular with a team of young collaborators he has assembled that he described as one of the best in Europe.
Hatzis also addressed journalists directly, thanking them for their interest but saying he had nothing further to add beyond what he had written. He said he would be in London for research without the time or inclination to discuss the matter further, and noted that hundreds of colleagues in the same position would be willing to speak to reporters.
