Britain and Sweden have a similar economic outlook on many issues, including research policy. For previous EU Framework programmes, the countries worked together on a strong negotiating stance and to turn their wish list into reality.
Sweden and the UK agree on many policies, such as prioritising excellent research in funding programmes over widening participation to newer member states. But after Brexit, things will not be the same.
A report by the Swedish Research Council and the innovation agency Vinnova, published on 23 May, predicted that Sweden’s position in negotiating Horizon 2020’s successor would weaken, as the country would lose its strongest negotiation ally. “In some negotiations, we’ve tended to let Britain speak and we’ve agreed,” said Jonas Gurell, senior analyst at the Swedish Research Council. “The UK has done a lot of work and has a very strong opinion. Now we’ll need to spend more time preparing in order to be heard.”
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