Researchers Lost as Funding Programme Participation is Denied by Europe

An interview with Sky News highlighted scientists and engineer’s belief that the UK’s status as a global leader in research is in jeopardy due to “substantial brain drain” and uncertainty regarding sources of finance. This change in attitude follows a period of unsuccessful talks with the European Union.

The UK wishes to strike a deal with the European Union to continue participating in the £84 billion Horizon Europe financing programme. But negotiations are being denied by Brussels unless other Brexit-related disputes, such as the one over Northern Ireland, are resolved.

If the UK are unable to stay on the programme, the government has promised to provide the same amount of finance researchers had previously. Although many of the programmes cover across Europe, leaving many unsure of what this really means for them.

Moritz Treeck, a german researcher in a malaria study at the Francis Crick Institute in London, said that “nobody told me I have to leave, but it wasn’t a welcoming environment.” There was once a time where the benefits of being a part of UK science were “huge”, however the dynamic has since changed.

Deadlock over Horizon financing is also having an effect on the UK’s established position of power in international partnerships, with Baroness Brown of Cambridge, Julia King, commenting: “I think we will see a brain drain of our brightest talents going overseas. I think we will see more of our best technology-based companies finding that it’s easier to get their scale-up funding overseas to list on stock markets in the US rather than in the UK.”

By 2025, Boris Johnsons’ government promised to increase UK research spending twofold to 24% of GDP. But since the handover to Liz Truss, researchers worry that expenditure proposals might lead to reductions in funding.

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