- Professor in Politics and International Studies Simon Usherwood welcomes the deal but says it’s definitely not the same one we had before
- British researchers might find it hard to play the same leading role they’re used to since their positions in developing new projects have been filled by others
- Experts here do not enjoy the same freedom of movement since Brexit, which could affect their research placements abroad
- The UK will get out of the project about as much as it puts in – financially. Before, it was a clear beneficiary
An Open University academic welcomes the news that scientific researchers in the UK will benefit from being back in the fold of the Horizon Project but warns that we are a long way off the original benefits.
Professor Simon Usherwood, Professor of Politics and International Studies, says while the deal is a positive move for scientific co-operation between the UK and counterparts across Europe – giving full access to one of the world’s leading research funding streams – it’s not a return to the former status quo.
He said: “The Horizon deal does not take us back to the same terms of the UK’s previous participation in the programme.
“As someone who has been both a participant in earlier forms of the Horizon programme and as a researcher on UK-EU relations, I see this as another example of how we need to understand that being outside of the EU has complex effects in many areas.
“There is now a careful mechanism to ensure that – broadly speaking – the UK will get out about as much funding as it puts into the scheme, when it used to be a clear net beneficiary before it left the EU.”
He continues that what it does do is “remove a key source of uncertainty about our Horizon relationship” which he says has had a clear impact on maintaining or generating the kinds of international networks needed to produce world-leading research, in which the UK has traditionally been a very strong player.
He said: “It also reflects an improvement in UK-EU relations, following this spring’s Windsor Framework on the Northern Ireland Protocol.
“It suggests that the EU is now willing to entertain the idea of doing more together, now that the British government seems to have stepped back from following through on its existing obligations under the treaties that were negotiated after the 2016 referendum.”
But he pointed out that it would be optimistic to expect similar progress elsewhere with the EU:
“Despite being a relatively simple deal that both sides were clearly invested in concluding, it has still taken seven months since the Windsor announcement to get to an agreement, and it will only be in January next year that it comes into effect.
“This should highlight how much both sides will take much care to protect their interests, putting that ahead of any speedy resolution. With several other issues also potentially on the table right now, this should make us assume that things will take longer rather than shorter to resolve.”
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