  Magnetic skyrmions are topologically protected spin-whirl quasiparticles
currently considered as promising components for ultra-dense memory devices. In
the bulk they form lattices that are stable over just a few Kelvin below the
ordering temperature. This narrow stability range presents a key challenge for
applications, and finding ways to tune the SkL stability over a wider phase
space is a pressing issue. Here we show experimentally that the skyrmion phase
in the magnetoelectric insulator ${\text{Cu}_2 \text{O} \text{Se} \text{O}_3}$
can either expand or shrink substantially depending on the polarity of a
moderate applied electric field. The data are well-described by an expanded
mean-field model with fluctuations that show how the electric field provides a
direct control of the free energy difference between the skyrmion and the
surrounding conical phase. Our finding of the direct electric field control of
the skyrmion phase stability offers enormous potential for skyrmionic
applications based on a magnetoelectric coupling.
