Explainer: Sunak’s doubts on rejoining the EU’s Horizon science scheme post-Brexit

This week was all about Sunak’s deal with the EU on the Northern Ireland protocol. It was praised by many as an agreement between grown-ups, as the best solution available after years of post-Brexit impasse. Its staunchest critics – aside from the ever-candid Boris Johnson – are still waiting in the shadows for the best moment to come out. 

One of the many details of the deal is the removal of the block on the UK joining Horizon. The latter is the EU’s chief funding programme for research and innovation. The Union always insisted that progress on this point was dependent on progress on the Northern Ireland protocol – and now that a deal has been lashed out, it’s down to Rishi Sunak to rejoin the EU scheme.

Except for the fact that he might not be so keen. He is said to be doubtful about the merit of the €95.5bn science programme, and wary of the cost of participating in it. The government and the EU have yet to negotiate how much the UK has to contribute to get back into the scheme.

At the end of last year, Sunak was already asking his ministers to get up to speed with a plan B for a global science strategy for Britain. It would see the UK building stronger collaborative ties on science with other countries like Switzerland, New Zealand and Sweden. 

But British scientists and academics have been extremely vocal in their support of rejoining Horizon, and spent months pressuring Sunak into making progress with the EU. Now that he finally has, they will campaign even harder to get back into the EU’s programme. 

In the past three years, researchers have been unable to apply for most of the grants available, and have found it increasingly hard to work closely with their European colleagues. In science international collaboration is key, and British scientists have been advocating for a stronger role for the UK within the European research community.

European commission president Ursula von der Leyen is well aware of the Horizon scheme’s potential – calling the deal reached with Sunak on Northern Ireland “good news for scientists and researchers in the EU and in the UK”. She said she’s ready to start work on an association agreement as soon as possible. It would be smart for Sunak to follow her lead.