Over 20 Nobel laureates in disciplines such as medicine, physics and chemistry have signed an open letter published in the scientific magazine Science on May 25, under the title Support for Greece. The letter - which has also been sent to leading European Union officials, including European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Parliament President Martin Schulz -was written on the initiative of German virologist and director of the German Cancer Research Center, Harald zur Hausen, who won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2008.

The prominent scientists call for better use of European structural funds so as to help Greece in the sectors of education, research and technology that have been hit by a lack of funding, even though they are important parameters for ending the crisis. They also call on European leaders to ensure the survival and development of scientific and technological institutes in Greece.