Hopes for R&D as Johnson and von der Leyen talk trade deal

European Commission president stresses the importance of maintaining UK-EU researcher collaborations after Brexit

As she prepares to meet prime minister Boris Johnson to begin talks over a post-Brexit trade deal between the UK and the European Union, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, has stressed the importance of continued collaboration on research.

While the trade deal is unlikely to be in place before 2021, after the UK finishes its 11-month transition period for leaving the EU, it is hoped that the two leaders will be able to define future links between UK and EU R&D programmes—the details of which have been left uncertain since the referendum vote.