British firms and academics will continue to be part of European Horizon projects post Brexit, as part of the deal agreed on Christmas Eve.
ScienceBusiness.net, a network which debates and networks on research and innovation, reports that the UK will continue to pay into and participate in five EU funding programmes including the big Horizon Europe research scheme, which is a a seven-year, €95.5 billion (£85.7 billion) plan to succeed the current programme, Horizon 2020.
The Horizon project covers work on a range of areas including transport and energy.
The report points out that the UK has a strong track record in EU research competitions. From 2007-2013, the country participated in over 10,000 projects with over 18,000 participants. In total, the UK secured around €7 billion in funding (15% of total awarded funding) over that period – the second greatest share of participations and of EU funding, behind Germany in both cases.
The accord commits the UK to further negotiations with Brussels to formally “associate” with the programme, meaning Britain will contribute some funding and its researchers can bid for Horizon money alongside Europeans. The UK’s annual pay-in to EU programmes will be calculated based on the country’s gross domestic product as a share of EU GDP.
(Picture – European Union)
