UK researchers losing out as Horizon Europe uncertainty drags on

The UK is on the brink of being frozen out of Europe’s largest research funding programme as a result of political disputes between the British government and the EU.

The deadlock over the UK’s involvement in Horizon Europe is a serious concern for the country’s research community, with university leaders warning that the ‘window for association is closing’. Meanwhile, many UK-based researchers have already lost out on grants and leadership roles on major international projects due to the uncertainty.

The UK’s continued participation in EU research programmes was negotiated  as part of the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement signed on the eve of Brexit in December 2020. But the UK’s status as an associated member of Horizon Europe has never been fully ratified, and has since become a political bargaining chip in the on-going dispute over UK threats to override the Northern Ireland protocol – the customs and immigration deal struck to avoid the need for a hard border on the isle of Ireland.