Both sides say agreement has been reached over UK researchers’ access to EU funding scheme
UK researchers’ long post-Brexit wait for access to the EU’s Horizon Europe funding programme is finally over, after the UK government and European Commission announced a new deal.
On 7 September, it was confirmed that UK scientists would now have access to Horizon, after the prime minister secured a “bespoke deal with improved financial terms for the UK’s participation”.
Under the terms of the agreement, UK taxpayers will not pay for the two and a half years in which they have been excluded from the programme. The UK will also have a new “automatic clawback” that protects the UK as participation recovers from the effects of the last two-and-a-half years.
‘Right deal for British taxpayers’
An agreement for the UK to join the EU Earth-observation programme, Copernicus, has also been secured.
But the UK will not be associating to the EU fusion programme, Euratom, instead taking forward its own fusion strategy.
“With a wealth of expertise and experience to bring to the global stage, we have delivered a deal that enables UK scientists to confidently take part in the world’s largest research collaboration programme–Horizon Europe,” said prime minister Rishi Sunak.
“We have worked with our EU partners to make sure that this is right deal for the UK, unlocking unparalleled research opportunities, and also the right deal for British taxpayers.”
View from Brussels
The Commission called the deal a “mutually agreed solution” that will be “beneficial to both” the EU and UK.
“The EU and UK are key strategic partners and allies, and today’s agreement proves that point,” said its president, Ursula von der Leyen (pictured, with Sunak, at an earlier meeting).
The UK government stressed that researchers should apply for Horizon grants from the moment the deal was announced, but the Commission noted it would be from 1 January that “researchers and organisations in the UK will be able to participate in Horizon Europe on par with their counterparts in EU Member States and will have access to Horizon Europe funding”.
Association will not take place until January 2024, but since calls starting now have closing dates after 1 January 2024, UK researchers can apply for all future Horizon bids and tenders.
Long delays
The UK negotiated associated membership of Horizon Europe with the EU in late 2020, but was blocked from joining due to disputes over Northern Ireland and trade. Those issues were resolved earlier this year and the UK was then in drawn out talks with the EU, with negotiations hinging on how much it will cost the UK to join the programme.
Hopes were previously raised that a deal was imminent in early July, ahead of a meeting between Sunak and von der Leyen at a Nato summit in Vilnius. But the meeting took place without a deal being agreed.
The day before the deal was finally announced rumours—first reported by Bloomberg—began to swirl that an announcement was imminent. Joy among UK researchers was quick to follow.