By: Paul E. L. T. Borrow-Longain
The British Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Rishi Sunak, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, recently announced agreement on the Windsor Framework, after months of intense negotiations.
While both leaders now embark on a public relations campaign to “sell” the framework to political leaders in the United Kingdom and the member nations of the European Union, I wanted to take a more in-depth look at what the framework could mean for British scientists and scientific research, should the framework become law.
Ever since the United Kingdom left the European Union in January 2020, British-based scientists have received little or no funding from Horizon Europe, the European Union research fund. This has not simply barred British-based scientists from applying for research grants, but has also seen a significant reduction in collaboration between UK and EU research teams. This latter situation is, in my view, far more detrimental to the long-term standing of British research and innovation.
This reduction in collaboration due to the closure of access to Horizon Europe will see the best undergraduate, post-graduate and postdoctoral students and researchers in the scientific field reluctant to study and commence their academic careers in the UK. Should the framework become accepted by both parties, scientists should be able to benefit from the €100bn Horizon Europe programme once more.
During the joint press conference, the President of the European Commission described the framework as “good news for scientists and researchers in the EU and in the UK”. She went on to say that “the moment it’s implemented, I’m happy to start immediately – right now – to work on an association agreement, which is the precondition to joining Horizon Europe,”
Researchers say they have hopes that under the Windsor Framework, the UK could link up with Horizon Europe. However, even if the framework becomes law the benefits of access are not likely to be felt immediately by UK-based scientists. This is because it could take many years for British involvement to return to levels seen before the UK exited the European Union.
According to an article in The Guardian on the 28th of February 2023, Professor Paul Nurse, Nobel laureate and Director of the Francis Crick Institute, said:
“The government policy was to associate with Horizon Europe, and the only blockage to that was acrimony over the Northern Ireland protocol. So the potential solution of that problem now [leaves] the doors wide open to association, allowing the government to fulfil its policy,”
Professor Nurse went on to say that “Fundamentally, there’s three main science groupings in the world: North America, Asia – increasingly focused on China – and of course Europe, and if you’re outside one of those groupings, you’re going to find it very difficult to be a major science nation, because you’re not part of the collaborations.”
In the same article in The Guardian Professor Venki Ramakrishnan, Nobel laureate and former President of the Royal Society, said:
“It is excellent news, and now that progress has been made on Northern Ireland, it should be an urgent priority for the government to work out an agreement with the EU to allow our full participation in Horizon Europe, something that will be hugely beneficial for both parties.”
So why is Horizon Europe access considered so important by such prominent scientists?
If the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is that science, our scientists, and scientific research are critically important. Without scientific collaboaration and innovation, it would have been impossible to so rapidly create the various vaccines which have saved unknown numbers of lives not only in the UK and EU but around the world. Research of this magnitude costs millions of pounds and is highly risky. Therefore, access to as many sources of research funding as possible is of paramount importance.
The British Government has often stated that in our post-Brexit, post-Covid world, it is innovation in the private sector and academia which will spearhead our economic growth. Arrangements such as those proposed in the Windsor Framework, therefore, have the potential to substantially improve British-based scientists’ and researchers’ access to funding and collaboration.
While politicians in the United Kingdom and the European Union start to review the details of the framework, looking for “the devil in the details” which they feel would not be in the best interests of their respective constituents, the scientific community have no choice but to watch and hope the framework is passed into law. While both the British Prime Minister and the President of the European Commission seem confident in the deal announced proceeding, it is prudent to remain cautiously optimistic. It could be many weeks, if not months, before we will know if the framework is accepted and able to be implemented.
