As the first Slovak in this prestigious position, CELSI’s founder and director Martin Kahanec has been appointed to the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors (GCSA) to the European Commisssion.

Within the Scientific Advisory Mechanism (SAM), the GCSA provides high-quality, timely, and independent scientific advice to the College of European Commissioners on any subject, including on policy issues that the European Parliament and the Council consider to be of major importance.

The GCSA comprises up to seven Individual Advisors selected for their outstanding level of expertise and broad vision, which collectively reflects an understanding of important scientific developments, including interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research.

Kahanec was nominated by the Slovak Economic Association and was selected and appointed by the European Commission starting in May 2025 for a three-year term, renewable for an additional 2 years.

Martin Kahanec is a founder (with Marta Kahancová) and Scientific Director of the Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI). He has also held a research faculty position at the University of Economics in Bratislava since 2015. He is a professor and former dean at Central European University in Vienna and the Director of its Shattuck Center for Human Rights.

As a member of the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors (GCSA) to the European Commission, Kahanec will provide the Commission with independent scientific advice on specific policy issues where such advice is critical to the development of EU policies or legislation.

"This appointment is both a personal honor and a recognition of the supportive and inspiring academic communities I am proud to be part of - at the Central European Labour Studies Institute, Central European University in Vienna, the University of Economics in Bratislava, and across my European and international networks. I look forward to contributing to evidence-informed policymaking in Europe, drawing on the vital role that the social sciences play in helping societies develop and implement innovative solutions to their most pressing challenges," said Kahanec.

The Group of Chief Scientific Advisors (GCSA)

The Group of Chief Scientific Advisors (GCSA) is composed of up to seven individual advisors, who are selected for their outstanding level of expertise and broad vision, which collectively reflects an understanding of important scientific developments, including interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research.

Their role is to provide independent scientific advice and policy recommendations to the College of European Commissioners to inform their decision-making, and thus contribute to the quality of EU legislation.

The advisors work closely with the consortium of networks of European science academies associated under the Scientific Advice for Policy by European Academies (SAPEA) project, which gathers expertise in engineering, humanities, medicine, natural and social sciences from over 100 academies and societies across Europe.

Together with a secretariat established in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, the GCSA (a registered Commission expert group) and SAPEA are collectively known as the Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM).

Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM) plays a crucial role in providing high-quality, timely, and independent scientific advice to the College of European Commissioners on any subject, including on policy issues that the European Parliament and the Council consider to be of major importance.

Find more information about The Group of Chief Scientific Advisors (GCSA) here: https://scientificadvice.eu/about-us/group-of-chief-scientific-advisors/about-the-advisors/