Science after Brexit: bright spots on the Horizon?

Abstract

Is scientific partnership between the UK and EU on the Horizon?

“There will still be intense and intensifying European cooperation and partnership in a huge number of fields: the arts, the sciences, the universities, and on improving the environment.” So said a certain Boris Johnson, one of the leaders of the triumphant Leave campaign to pull Britain out of the EU, in the days after the Brexit referendum in June 2016. The Leave campaign promised increased investment in science, continued association with EU science programmes, and to make the UK more attractive to scientists. As with many other promises used to sell Brexit, these have proved hollow. The resulting years of uncertainty and indecision have damaged British universities, unsettled researchers and prevented collaboration across Europe.

The UK chose to reject the offer to participate in the ERASMUS student exchange scheme (https://www.politico.eu/article/uk‐students‐lose‐participation‐in‐eu‐erasmus‐university‐exchange‐scheme/), despite the same Boris Johnson, having risen to become Prime Minister, stating that “[t]here is no threat to the Erasmus scheme” (https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200118063522587). The ERASMUS programme has been tremendously beneficial for mobility among European countries, for both training and research—Suella Braverman, the UK Home Secretary, was among its beneficiaries. The UK remains part of the European Space Agency (a non‐EU organization), but questions remain about its association with other programmes such as the Copernicus Earth observation satellite programme, Euratom or Fusion for Energy.

A vital question is the UK's participation in the EU's flagship €95.5 billion Horizon Europe programme. Recent agreements between the UK and EU have raised hopes that the UK will associate to this scheme, and indeed the UK Royal Society and others have urged swift association (https://royalsociety.org/news/2023/02/ni‐horizon‐2023‐response/), but the UK Government is holding back because of budgetary issues (https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/sunak‐holds‐back‐rejoining‐horizon‐after‐brexit‐deal‐ft‐2023‐03‐03/). It has been reported that the British Government wants a discount to join the scheme, indicating that haggling is continuing (https://www.politico.eu/article/uk‐weighs‐value‐for‐money‐of‐returning‐to‐eu‐science‐after‐brexit‐hiatus/). These delays have raised serious concerns from both scientists (https://www.science.org/content/blog‐post/conversation‐with‐ottoline‐leyser) and business leaders (https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/business‐leaders‐rishi‐sunak‐uk‐back‐horizon‐europe/156642/) even though the value of Horizon Europe for the UK, and the contribution that UK researchers could make to it, are widely recognized on all sides.

Thus continues the uncertainty for UK science, researchers and universities. The UK government is trying to put alternative frameworks in place, for example, the Turing Scheme to replace ERASMUS (https://www.turing‐scheme.org.uk/), as well as committing to footing the bill for UK Horizon Europe projects approved by the ERC (https://sciencebusiness.net/framework‐programmes/news/uk‐announces‐eu250m‐towards‐horizon‐europe‐participation‐cost‐following). This was recently extended to June 2023 and has provided over £880 million via UKRI (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/horizon‐europe‐guarantee‐scheme‐extension‐to‐support‐uk‐rd). However, even this has been walked back on, as the UK treasury recently took back £1.6bn that it had earmarked for the UK's involvement in Horizon Europe (https://www.bbc.com/news/science‐environment‐64726522). The UK Government is also developing a “Plan B,” the £14.6 billion Pioneer Fund, if association to Horizon Europe proves unsuccessful (https://www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr‐news‐uk‐politics‐2023‐4‐uk‐government‐unveils‐14‐6bn‐plan‐b‐for‐horizon‐europe/). While investment in research would be welcomed by UK researchers and indeed is vital for growth—and required for the government's goal of the UK being a “science superpower”—this scheme cannot provide the sheer scale and range of collaborative opportunities across the continent that Horizon Europe offers.

This ongoing uncertainty continues to take a human and scientific toll, for both UK and EU scientists, and for British universities. Scientists in the UK have had little clarity as to their medium‐to‐long‐term ability to participate in EU funding schemes—many of which support multi‐investigator collaborations across countries—and the impact this has on their ability to fund cross‐border collaborations. In turn, this had made the UK a less attractive country in which to build a research career. Science is increasingly international, but national funding schemes have been slow to adjust, apart from a handful of bilateral agreements and a few international schemes such as the Human Frontier Science Program. The EU Framework Programmes therefore provide a unique opportunity to secure funding for investigators from different countries. They are important both in terms of competitiveness, vis‐à‐vis the USA where investigators from across the country can collaborate on federally funded research programmes, as well as for consolidating research in Europe. If UK scientists can no longer participate, it will be both a loss for UK scientists in terms of access to funding and for collaboration and R&D across Europe, which is urgently needed to solve common challenges such as antimicrobial resistance, net zero, sustainable growth and climate change.

Brexit has also caused tremendous uncertainty for EU scientists based in the UK. One of the greatest strengths of UK science—perhaps second only to the USA—has been the ability to attract some of the best talent from across the world. Brexit has made the UK less attractive to researchers. Some of have already left to the EU, USA and elsewhere, while others are likely to leave. The hidden cost in terms of loss of others who would have come to the UK under different circumstances is also immense. For those already in the UK, to suddenly lose their settled status and stability has been very unsettling and led to worries about families as well as careers (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/09/science‐cabinet‐seat‐britain‐research‐brexit‐rishi‐sunak).

These challenges affect academic researchers at all career stages (https://jobs.newscientist.com/article/brexit‐batters‐science‐job‐market/). It is now much harder to recruit EU postdocs in an environment where postdoc recruitment is already increasingly difficult (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586‐022‐02781‐x), and students, who suddenly face the prospect of having to pay international student tuition in the UK, as well as visa barriers and immigration requirements. These have reduced the UK's attractiveness as a destination for education and research, and applications from EU students to UK universities have dropped by around 40% between 2021 and 2021 (https://thepienews.com/analysis/brexit‐effect‐eu‐students/). The associated loss of funding and students has been very difficult for the whole university sector, which has been a pillar of the UK economy and “soft power.” Weakening the universities will have substantial ripple effects across society, the impact of which would resonate for decades.

Despite the damage done so far, UK research and universities remain internationally strong. They offer a lot in skills, capabilities, facilities and ability to collaborate. Both the EU and the UK would benefit from UK association to Horizon Europe, and Europe as a whole will be stronger, and better equipped to meet the health, prosperity, environmental and other challenges of the 21^st century, if the technical budget hurdles to association can be overcome. More generally, both the UK and EU will benefit from UK participation in research, development and innovation programmes. We hope that recent positive discussions between Gabriela Mariya, the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, and Michele Donelan, the UK Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, will lead to rapid agreement on UK association to Horizon Europe and end some of the uncertainty. Failure to agree on this and related issues would threaten scientific research and innovation not only in the UK but also across the whole of Europe.

Disclosure and competing interests statement

Both authors are UK citizens and have either UK‐ or EU‐based institutional affiliations. AJM is an ERC Advanced Grant holder, funded under the previous Horizon 2020 programme.

EMBO reports (2023) 24: e57409