https://erc.europa.eu/news/applications-erc-advanced-grants-2020-facts-and-figures
Maybe that trend has something to do with the fact that more countries are giving more importance to grant winning as a precondition to becoming a tenured professor:
“Grant winners are more than four times more likely to be an associate or a full professor within 5 years of applying for the grant.” https://pacheco-torgal.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-european-research-council-and.html
