July 19, 2023

expert reaction to report from the Financial Times suggesting that the decision on whether UK will rejoin Horizon Europe research programme has been delayed until after summer

The article in The Financial Times suggests that Rishi Sunak is set to delay the decision on whether Britain should rejoin the EU’s Horizon science programme.

Prof Sir John Hardy, Professor of Neuroscience and Group Leader at the UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London (UCL), said:

“If true, this betrays a really lackadaisical approach to the government’s stated aim for Britain to remain a science superpower. I fear that the government does not really understand how science works.”

Dr Tim Bradshaw, Chief Executive of the Russell Group, said:

“Despite the delays, full UK participation in the world’s largest multilateral research programme remains the best outcome for all parties and we hope a deal can be confirmed as soon as possible.

“The sooner we associate, the sooner our world-leading universities, researchers and businesses can take advantage of the ready-made routes for talent flow, facilities access and collaboration with multiple countries for the remaining period of the Horizon programme.

“The scale of research supported by Horizon Europe will help deliver medical breakthroughs, new technologies, and advances in areas such as AI to improve all our lives and help tackle the shared environmental, economic, and social challenges we face.”

https://www.ft.com/content/88618dcc-bdef-49e6-84dd-ec78539540d9

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