Some British researchers who had secured Horizon Europe funding have already been told that their grants will be cancelled
UK science minister George Freeman said that negotiations on the United Kingdom’s involvement in Horizon Europe are at a “crunch point”.Concerns are growing that the United Kingdom is on the cusp of leaving the European Union’s Horizon Europe research programme, the largest collaborative research programme in the world, after the UK science minister said in an 8 June speech in Brussels that the “time is closing” for a positive resolution.
Last week, Universities UK, which represents 140 universities, sent a letter to the European Commission warning that “failure to secure UK association to Horizon Europe would be a lose–lose for health, wealth and well-being”. Peter Mason, head of international engagement at Universities UK, said that although there was still hope that an agreement could be reached, the situation “does look bleak” because of the Northern Ireland issue.
The uncertainty since December 2020 has caused problems for UK researchers. Ben Sheldon, a zoologist at the University of Oxford, UK, was awarded a grant totalling €3.1 million in early April from Horizon Europe’s prestigious European Research Council to study the response of animals and plants in the United Kingdom to climate change. He is one of dozens of UK researchers who have won ERC funds this year.
The EC’s spokesperson said that “it is legally impossible to sign grants with host institutions that are not located in an EU member state or in an associated country”. UK grant winners will be given until 29 June to make a final decision. “Once the grant preparation phase is terminated, it will not be possible to reinstate the grants concerned.