Sunak delays decision on rejoining Horizon Europe

'We do wish they would hurry up' says head of Universities UK

Prominent scientists in the UK have expressed concern and disappointment regarding reports of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's decision to defer rejoining the EU's €95.5 billion Horizon science programme until after the summer holidays.

Researchers and academics were optimistic that Sunak would reach a decision before the House of Commons' break on Thursday. However, a government insider told the Financial Times that there are no plans to make any announcements this week.

"I'd be surprised if there was anything over the summer," the person added.

In Parliament, Chi Onwurah, shadow minister for business, energy and industrial strategy, emphasised that the Prime Minister had an opportunity this month to finalise a deal on Horizon.

"He did not take it, again, and so the Horizon saga drags on month after month, year after year," Onwurah added.

In response, Minister Chloe Smith stated that the government was diligently working to secure the appropriate deal for "UK taxpayers and UK science".

Since Brexit, Britain has been absent from the scheme, putting significant pressure on Rishi Sunak's government from prominent researchers and industry leaders to rejoin the programme.

Upon Britain's departure from the EU in January 2020, it formally withdrew from all three schemes: Horizon, Copernicus and Euratom. Negotiations to rejoin these schemes as a third country faced challenges due to the dispute surrounding the UK's non-compliance with the Northern Ireland protocol trade arrangements, as outlined in the original Brexit withdrawal agreement.

Nevertheless, talks resumed in March of this year after the Windsor Framework deal was established between London and Brussels. European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, expressed optimism at the time, stating that a deal could be swiftly reached.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the government was in negotiations for a draft deal to rejoin the Horizon programme.

Citing two UK government officials, Politico reported that a final agreement would be confirmed during Rishi Sunak's crucial meeting with von der Leyen.

Contrary to expectations, the sign-off by Sunak did not occur during his meeting with von der Leyen at a Nato summit in Lithuania.

"Our preference is to associate to Horizon, but we need to make sure that we do that on terms that work for the UK and are in the UK's best interests," Sunak told reporters on the plane to the Lithuanian capital.

"Those conversations are ongoing, and it is important that we give those conversations the time to conclude. There's no point in doing something that it is not in the interests of British taxpayers or British researchers and scientists."

Negotiations concerning Horizon have reportedly focused partly on the financial "correction mechanism" that determines the course of action if the UK extracts significantly less from the programme than it contributes in financial payments.

As part of its Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) in 2020, the UK secured a £2bn-a-year deal for associate membership of Horizon. However, discussions stalled over the UK's contributions for a shortened participation in the current seven-year programme.

According to one ally of Sunak, there is an ongoing "iterative" discussion with Brussels regarding the possibility of reaching a deal.

"This has to be the right deal for the UK and the UK taxpayer. I think people would rather we took time to get things right. We are not going to agree with something unless we are 100% happy," the person said.

Martin Smith, head of policy at the Wellcome Trust, the charitable health research foundation, told the FT that there might be frustration over the delay in the negotiations, but he believes that the negotiators should be granted "the space they need to find a solution."

Vivienne Stern, the head of Universities UK, the sectoral body, said: "We recognise that the UK government wants to secure a fair deal, and that we need flexibility and imagination on both sides, but we do wish they would hurry up.

"Delay has a real cost, and the benefits of a deal go beyond the financial."