Scientists including the physicist Brian Cox have reacted with a mixture of caution, anger and relief that the UK appears set to rejoin the EU’s flagship £85bn Horizon science research programme after a protracted Brexit row.
Sources indicate that an announcement could come in days, possibly next week when Rishi Sunak is scheduled to meet the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, at a Nato summit.
A deal would end a two-and-a-half year standoff after the EU refused to ratify the UK’s membership of Horizon Europe in a row over the Northern Ireland protocol.
Cox, a TV presenter and professor of particle physics at the University of Manchester, said rejoining would “come as a huge relief to everyone in science, industry and universities across the UK”.
But others expressed anger, saying the UK government still did not understand how much science benefited from the programme and appeared to be insisting on a financial formula that meant the UK did not end up as a net contributor to the programme.
“I find it pathetic. The UK has been a net receiver all these years. It confirms that Sunak has not understood how important it is to be a loyal partner and be focused on research. Book-keeping is not very helpful, one should also calculate the value of knowledge generation,” said Prof Bart De Strooper, former director of the UK Dementia Research Institute at University College London.
He cited the damage to scientific relationships that stemmed from the UK’s removal from the programme.
“To begin, a deep distrust with European colleagues regarding the engagement and reliability of the UK. I think that there is still a good chance that this gets repaired, but will take time,” said De Strooper.
Prof Carsten Welsch, a physicist at the University of Liverpool who lost leadership of a £2.6m research project on a novel plasma generator that could be used in cancer treatment when the UK lost membership, said it would be “absolutely fantastic news” to return to Horizon Europe.
“It would be a gigantic relief. It would mean that the politicians would have thankfully listened to the scientists and what changed was that they saw over the entire period we have been out is that we need to collaborate internationally,” he said.
He had to hand over the leadership of his Horizon project to an Italian university as under the rules only member states or associate member states can be beneficiaries.
Prof Andre Geim, a Nobel laureate from the University of Manchester, said: “Without knowing details, it is difficult to either celebrate or mourn, whatever the outcome will eventually be. However, we all – whether remainers or Brexiteers – must celebrate that the UK government has at long last taken a pragmatic step and started building a working relationship in science with Europe.”
James Wilsdon, a professor of research policy at UCL, cautioned that the UK would still be a bystander because of Brexit.
“Much has already changed as a consequence of Brexit. Even if we now associate to Horizon … we will no longer have a seat around the EU table where headline themes and priorities are being set. We will occupy a more peripheral position.
“The damage will take some time to repair. But overall I’m more optimistic than not because of the depth and strength of existing UK-EU links.”
Prof Dame Athene Donald, the master of Churchill College, Cambridge, also warned it would take time to rebuild links. She added: “During the past few years the UK has lost many talented scientists, both UK and European nationals, specifically because of the inability to hold European Research Council funds in the UK. I am sure scientists up and down the country have their fingers crossed that [rejoining Horizon] really is about to happen.”
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Martin Smith, the head of Policy Lab at the research charity Wellcome Trust, said: “Full association is the goal and the consensus is that the UK will recover its participation rate and reap the benefits.”
Negotiations between the EU and the UK have centred on the financial formula to return to the fold.
The UK has argued that the original plan to base London’s contribution on its 2019 success rates in Horizon Europe was no longer relevant or fair.
Data shows the UK was awarded €959m (£819.5m) in Horizon grants in 2019 but just €22.18m in 2023.
Sources say the final details concern the “correction mechanism” in place were the value of grants awarded to the UK to be less or more than its annual contribution.
A spokesperson for Sunak said a “deal has not been agreed” and his aim was to find a way “that produces the best value for UK science and research and also for taxpayers. That is what the prime minister will consider at the appropriate time.”
The European Commission said discussions were ongoing and there was no further comment to make.
Some scientists expressed nervousness that the talks could still go awry.
“I dare not hope, I just want this to be over. It’s been so tortured for so long,” said Mike Galsworthy, a co-founder of Scientists for the EU.
