Delay to Horizon Europe association damaging to UK and EU research, says Lords Committee
Thursday 3 March 2022
The House of Lords European Affairs Committee has today (Thursday 3 March) written to the Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss MP, the European Commission, and the European Parliament to express its deep concerns about delays to the UK’s participation in the EU’s flagship funding programme, Horizon Europe and the detrimental impact this is having on UK and EU research.
The Committee recently heard evidence from representatives of both the UK and the EU science and research communities, including the Royal Society and Universities UK, and also received a written submission from the Russell Group of UK universities.
In its letters, the Committee strongly endorses the witnesses’ view that securing the UK’s association to Horizon Europe is critical for the UK’s science and research community.
The Committee stresses that the benefits of Horizon Europe go beyond the direct funding opportunities: it also represents a long-standing and prestigious evolution of programmes, which unlocks opportunities for research collaboration and wider commercial, scientific, and cultural benefits.
The Committee further agrees that securing association would be a genuine ‘win-win’ for both the UK and the EU, and that the apparent politicisation of mutually beneficial scientific cooperation is a deeply regrettable development.
The Committee urges the UK Government and European Commission to work together to unblock the current impasse as soon as possible, in the interests of both sides, and regardless of ongoing disputes in separate areas of the UK-EU relationship.
Read the Committee's letter in full.
The Committee has asked the Foreign Secretary to respond to its questions by 17 March 2022.
