Ask HN: National Labs in Europe

A currently active topic on the front page is "Has anyone worked at the US National Labs before?"

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34414527

From the discussions a coherent picture of the National Labs emerges as a workplace somewhere in-between academia and IT-industry, with great work-life balance, autonomy and intellectual challenges, as well as a slow and often bureaucratic pace of work.

My question is: what are workplaces with similar qualities outside of the US, especially in Europe? What are some alternatives for people with PhD (in CS, physics, math, etc.) outside tech industry and academia?