UK scientists in limbo as UK-EU commission deal remains unratified
Just over a year ago, the UK government and the European (EU)Commission finalized a long-awaited trade dealthat crystalized UK’s status in EU Commission’s funding programs post Brexit.
This deal paved the way for a formal partnership between the UK government and the EU Commission, allowing UK’s participation in the Horizon Europe funding program as a non-member state.
However, the deal hasn’t been officially set in motion yet given the ongoing political negotiations around the Northern Ireland protocol1 due to which essential goods are delivered from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland without any paperwork or security checks. Mariya Gabriel, EU Commission’s research head, said that the deal will not be made official till these disputes are resolved.
Voicing his concern, Jo Burton, the policy manager at the Russell Group, a consortium of top UK research universities (headquartered in Cambridge), said that they are starting to become extremely concerned about the situation.
The UK has been among the top research producers in the world. Moreover, UK scientists have consistently succeeded in securing funds from the EU Commission and have been the principal beneficiaries in EU-funded programs till Brexit.
The lack of an official agreement between the two parties and the delay in ratification of the deal means UK’s exclusion from participation in the EU’s biggest research and innovation program Horizon Europe.
Martin Smith, head of the policy lab at Wellcome, the London-based biomedical funder said, “Association is being held hostage to the bigger political impasse of the Northern Ireland protocol”. Both the parties want to reach an agreement and seal the deal at the earliest, however, it will only be done once the differences around Northern Ireland Protocol are resolved or if the EU Commission goes ahead with its decision irrespective of its disputes with UK over the Protocol. He says, “Patience is wearing thin.”2
On the bright side, it’s not all bleak for UK researchers. As a back-up funding plan, the UK government has planned for domestic funding programs and created its own version of the European funding scheme. In fact, this year’s massive R&D investment plan to reach £20bn by 2024-25 and the emphasis on expanding research horizons seems to be a move toward creating domestic alternatives, if need be.
References:
1. Brexit: What's the Northern Ireland Protocol? https://www.bbc.com/news/explainers-53724381
2. Brexit one year on: patience ‘wearing thin’ among UK scientists. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00318-w
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