How important is Horizon science project for UK – and could it rejoin?

The UK is edging closer to a deal to allow it back into the flagship £85bn Horizon Europe science research programme after being locked out since 2020 in a row over Northern Ireland’s Brexit trading arrangements.

What might happen, and can British science recover its leading position in Europe?

Was there any point to the row?

Debatable. Scientists had nothing to do with the Northern Ireland protocol and the issue had little political capital. Arguably, the only losers were in the sector itself.

Is it over?

Not yet. The UK is close to a deal, sources say, speculating that there could be an announcement on the sidelines of the Nato summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, next Tuesday.

What does the UK say?

Downing Street said a deal had not been agreed between the UK and the EU on the Horizon Europe research programme.

Rishi Sunak’s official spokesperson said the prime minister was keen to seek “value for money for taxpayers” if the UK was to rejoin the scheme, with “constructive” discussions still going on.

“It doesn’t affect just the past two years, but also the future value that the UK will get from these programmes, and the UK would be a net contributor to the Horizon programme if the decision were made to take that approach. So obviously there are issues that we are discussing and that we continue to discuss with the EU, and we will consider next steps.”

The EU also says negotiations are continuing.

What is the issue?

Money. The government is concerned that confidence is so weakened in the science sector that the money it pays in will not be matched by awards and it will end up being a net loser.

What do scientists say?

They agree that confidence has taken a knock, but say there is no reason why applications to the fund will not recover with the UK taking a leading role in the programme once again. Physicist and TV presenter Brian Cox said returning to the programme would be “a huge relief”.

Can the loss be quantified?

EU data shows that in 2019, €959.3m went to the UK in 1,364 grants, compared with €22.18m in 192 grants in 2023 to date.

How important was that money?

There is nothing that matched the scale of Horizon 2020 for scientific research and innovation. The programme had €100bn (£85bn) to fund projects from 2021 to 2027. These aim to tackle many of the most pressing questions the world faces, from dealing with climate change and protecting the oceans to fighting terminal diseases and improving food and energy security.

Britain has historically received far more back than it has contributed to EU research programmes. Between 2007 and 2013, the UK contributed nearly £4.3bn towards EU research projects and received nearly £7bn in grants. The £2.7bn excess amounted to more than £300m in research funds each year.

A major report in 2016 found that pre-Brexit, scientific and medical research in the UK was substantially propped up by EU grants, with crucial work on cancer, computing, nanotechnology and engineering all heavily reliant on the funds. European grants made up more than 40% of public money poured into cancer research and 62% of public money spent on nanotechnology research, the report found. Only 7% of funds from the EU and the European Research Council went to non-member states from 2006 to 2015.

But could the UK not just fund its own scientists?

It does. The UK Research and Innovation government fund guarantees that it will back scientists who would otherwise have relied on Horizon grants. But the science community argues it is not the same as international collaboration, and the sharing of findings is vital to accelerate advances.

So what has happened in the past three years?

A protracted political sulk rather than an official dispute after Lord Frost’s decision to unilaterally abandon some of the trading arrangements (since removed under the Windsor framework) relating to Northern Ireland.

Associate membership, due by normal standards in spring or early summer of 2021, was never ratified by the EU.

It was simply delayed in an informal retaliatory measure taken over the UK’s failure to implement the Northern Ireland protocol. The EU never announced that it was withholding membership, and it wasn’t until May 2022 that a senior EU diplomat admitted that Horizon Europe “might be the victim of a political impasse”.

Talks were only reopened in March 2023, when Rishi Sunak and Ursula von der Leyen agreed the new Windsor framework for Northern Ireland.

Is particular research at risk?

Doubts have been raised over whether the UK will seek access to Euratom, a parallel funding scheme for nuclear research and innovation, amid concerns that ministers do not consider Horizon good value for money. The programme operates on the same rules as Horizon Europe and aims to spend €1.4bn (£1.2bn) from 2021 to 2025. The funds will drive projects on nuclear fission, safety and radiation protection, but much of the investment is aimed at nuclear fusion, a potentially game=changing source of green power.