UK Horizon 2020 contracts safe, insist Moedas and Cameron

In the wake of the UK vote to leave the EU, leaders offer reassurances to researchers anxious about the effects on science

EU Research Commissioner Carlos Moedas attempted to quell the uncertainty unleashed by the UK vote to leave the EU, insisting yesterday that researchers remain eligible to apply for funding from the Horizon 2020 research programme.

“Until the end of the negotiations, UK remains a member of the EU and therefore with all the rights and obligations, including in relation to research programmes like Horizon 2020,” Moedas said.

“From a legal point of view, the outcome of the referendum has not changed anything. The EU law continues to apply in full to the UK, and in the UK, until the moment it is no longer a member state,” the Commissioner said.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who announced his resignation on Friday morning, confirmed yesterday during questions in the House of Commons. “All [Horizon 2020] contracts will be honoured. Obviously the key decision will be post-leaving, about how we put in arrangements to safeguard the excellent research facilities and universities we have,” he said.

The statements, the first to be aimed at researchers, come four days after the UK vote to leave the EU, throwing the economy and politics into turmoil.

Despite the reassuring tone, there is still some fear that Brexit will have a chilling effect on the UK’s inclusion in EU research consortia. Nick Wright, the Pro Vice Chancellor for research and innovation at Newcastle University, said he is, “Already getting reports of UK researchers not welcome any more in EU consortiums.”

Read more

Source: Science|Business