The United Kingdom returns to the EU’s Horizon scientific program after its exclusion due to Brexit

2024-02-16 09:52:15

Updated Friday, February 16, 2024 – 10:52

“Positive”. It is the immediate reaction of scientists from the United Kingdom to the country’s entry into Horizon Europe, the research and innovation framework program of the European Union (EU). Excluded from the community funding fund for four years as a result of Brexit, they can once again opt for study scholarships, with an average individual award of half a million euros, from January 2024.

“It is the most prestigious program in research; very competitive, difficult to obtain and recognized throughout the world,” Javier Pardo Díaz, vice president of CERU, the society of Spanish researchers in the United Kingdom, tells this newspaper. The return to Horizon affects the community diaspora, as well as British scientists, because The nationality of the applicant counts less than the geographical location of their research in the distribution of aid.

There has been a 20% increase in applications submitted in the United Kingdom in areas of excellence and a 50% increase among those seeking an initial financial boost to boost their project. “The rebound has been notable,” confirms Maria Leptin, president of the European Research Institute (ERC), channel of one of the pillars of the macro program.

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The institute received and evaluated proposals from the British scientific community during the post-Brexit limbo, without contributing to its financing. “Those who work at a high level want to play and compete in the first league, and the ERC is the league of champions,” boasts the German biologist, who manages a budget of 16 billion euros.

Leptin participated this week in the symposium in recognition of the British association with Horizon Europe, which brought together the business and political elite of the sector at the Royal Society in London, including the Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, Michelle Donelan, and the European Commissioner in the matter, Iliana Ivanova.

“Beneficial for both parties,” claimed the Bulgarian economist, responsible for the Innovation and Research portfolios, among other areas. Donelan emphasized the profitability element embedded in the “tailored agreement” reached with Brussels, which requires an annual contribution from London of 2,430 million euros until 2027.

Despite the progress in the field of scientific research, the minister ruled out extending collaboration to Erasmus, the popular university exchange program. “There are no plans to reevaluate the situation,” she responded to El Mundo.

The British commitment only covers the current Horizon framework, which It started in 2021 with a budget of 95.5 billion euros for seven years. “We will soon find ourselves in the same uncertainty of not knowing if we can apply for the calls. We hope that the British government sees that it is beneficial and profitable, that it is about sharing ideas and resources, that there are no borders in research for political reasons” , warns the vice president of CERU.

Pardo Díaz coordinates CONNECTS-UK, the pan-European platform founded by the society, which has just received an EU grant of 500,000 euros aimed at strengthening scientific relations between the United Kingdom and the European bloc. He wants to expand the network of members, attracting researchers of all European nationalities residing in the British Isles, when it comes to lobbying the political powers. “They listen to us, but science has not been a priority in Brexit,” he reproaches. Horizon remained pending until London and Brussels reached an agreement on Northern Ireland.

The conservative and ‘Brexit’ government gave in to pressure from scientists, but the return to the research funding framework is not free of obstacles. With Brexit, freedom of movement between the EU and the United Kingdom was abolished and new batches of researchers require a visa to ensure their stay in the British Isles. “It affects international mobility, it is the main problem. The immigration system is very rigid, with very high costs, and it is not enough to relax some measures, but it is necessary to make it more flexible,” says the Spanish scientist.