Research yet to see any Brexit benefits as UK still outside EU’s science programme

Hundreds of researchers and organisations across Europe have called for the rapid association of the UK and Switzerland to Horizon Europe. The Stick to Science initiative launched this week warned of far-reaching consequences for collaboration across Europe unless political differences are put aside. Antoine Petit, chair and chief executive of the French state research organisation CNRS, said preventing UK and Swiss association ‘is a punishment for all of us. It’s a punishment for Europe … a sado-masochistic decision.’ He added that ‘fragmenting the scientific community, in the context of larger challenges such as [the] health crisis or global warming does not make sense’. And he warned that ‘if we don’t work with our UK and Swiss colleagues, they will try to find these collaborations elsewhere’.