Image: Jakub Junek, via Shutterstock.com
Move will extend access to Horizon research funding for UK universities
Donald Tusk says the EU will accept the UK’s request for a Brexit extension until 31 January 2020, a move that means the country’s universities should retain full access to the Horizon 2020 R&D programme for the near future.
“The decision is expected to be formalised through a written procedure,” Tusk, president of the European Council, announced in a tweet on 28 October.
The temporary extension to EU membership, requested by UK prime minister Boris Johnson after he was instructed to do so by the country’s parliament, will also give students and academics ongoing access to the Erasmus+ education mobility programme.
Access to EU programmes beyond January 2020 will depend on the text of the Brexit deal, if one is accepted by the UK parliament. Parliament has rejected a version of the Brexit deal three times already, but has given a provisional green light to the latest version, agreed by Johnson and EU.
The most recent political declaration on the future relationship between the EU and UK says the two “will establish general principles, terms and conditions for the UK’s participation in Union programmes…in areas such as science and innovation”.