Brain drain? What brain drain?

Some in Germany's scientific community appear to be stifling yawns as EU officials continue their loud warnings that scientific “brain drain” is on the rise and a threat to Europe's knowledge-based economy.

“I would not say it [brain drain] is a major problem,” Barbara Dufner, a spokeswoman for Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research, told The Scientist.

And Beate Scholz, program director for research careers at the German Research Foundation, told The Scientist she was “a bit skeptical “ about the alarm bells sounding about German brain drain.

In a recent continuation of its campaign to raise awareness of European scientists leaving for greener pastures, the European Commission in late November issued two new reports on Europe's position in research and innovation.

The commission said that “the growth rate of investment in the knowledge-based economy is declining; the R&D investment gap between the EU and the US is increasing ...