Lord Frost gives update on UK’s participation in Horizon Europe
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UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) have signed an agreement to work together. It comes after both nations were blocked from the EU’s €95billion (£80billion) research funding programme. The agreement makes real the concerns of the recently launched Stick to Science campaign.
Thousands of experts have signed the campaign to allow the UK and Switzerland to associate to Horizon Europe, warning that a ban risks fragmenting the scientific community in Europe.
Antoine Petit, chair and chief executive of the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) said last week the EU was “hurting itself” by excluding neighbouring countries.
He added: “It’s a punishment for all of us, it’s a punishment for Europe.”
And it may also feel the economic pain, accord to Jan Palmowski, Secretary-General at The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities.
He warned: “The budget of €95billion agreed for Horizon Europe will be spent on applicants in EU member states.
“According to the Horizon Europe regulation, every country that associates pays extra.
“This means that excluding researchers in Swiss and UK institutions from applying for Horizon Europe will not increase the money available to researchers from EU countries.
“But it will make Horizon funding smaller, and therefore less visible globally, to the detriment of European science.”
Mr Palmowski said the Swiss and UK contributions would “increase to almost €120billionn (£100billion) – the minimum always demanded by Europe’s research and innovation community”.
He added: “We cannot get there without the UK and Switzerland.”
The UK-Swiss deal aims to reduce barriers for researchers and enable cooperation between the two countries on four broad research priorities.
These include biology, languages, materials and the life and physical sciences interface.
Grants of up to £25,000 are currently being advertised by UKRI to help UK-based researchers work with colleagues in Switzerland.
The SNSF is offering similar funds to Swiss researchers.
UKRI chief executive Ottoline Leyser said: “The UK and Switzerland have thriving research communities with successful collaborations over many years.
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“UK Research and Innovation is committed to maintaining and growing its partnerships with outstanding research and innovation funders across the globe.
“This agreement with the Swiss National Science Foundation represents the next step in our successful alliance.”
Switzerland was banned from Horizon Europe following political tensions between the EU and the Swiss government.
The Swiss situation mirrors the uncertainty that currently hangs over the UK’s participation in Horizon Europe.
The UK can still join the project as an assosiate member, that looks unlikely currently due to ongoing political wrangling over the Northern Ireland protocol.
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