Can the British prodigal son return to the flagship project of EU science？

　　The British government and the European Commission recently issued a joint statement saying that Britain will return to the EU’s flagship scientific projects "Horizon Europe" and "Copernicus" Earth observation projects through a new agreement with the EU. This move was welcomed by the scientific circles of both sides and regarded as an important moment to restore trust between the two sides. However, for the British scientific community, returning to the project cannot recover the losses that have been caused.

　　Horizon Europe is one of the largest multilateral research projects in the world.

　　Before Brexit, the British scientific community was one of the main beneficiaries of the Horizon Europe project, and scientists were eligible to apply for funds underwritten by the British government. However, after Britain’s "Brexit", many cooperation was forced to stop.

　　According to data from the European Commission, since 2019, funding for British science projects has fallen sharply. In that year, 959.3 million euros went to 1,364 research projects in the UK, while in 2023, only 192 grants were approved, totaling only 22.18 million euros.

　　After arduous negotiations, the British Prime Minister’s Office recently issued a statement saying that Britain has finally reached an agreement with the EU to rejoin the EU’s flagship scientific project — — Horizon Europe.

　　According to the latest agreement, British researchers can resume applying for the project funds of Horizon Europe and participate in related research from now on. From 2024, British scientists will be able to fully participate in the "Horizon Europe" project like scientists from EU member States. As an "associate" member during the implementation period from 2021 to 2027, the UK has to pay 2.6 billion euros every year.

　　As part of the UK-Europe Trade Cooperation Agreement in 2020, the UK had negotiated the associate membership of Horizon project, but due to the protracted dispute over the trade rules in Northern Ireland, the UK could not start the project.

　　Earlier this year, after several months of talks, British Prime Minister Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen finally reached an agreement at Windsor Castle, in order to resolve the controversial dispute over Northern Ireland’s trade rules since Britain’s formal "Brexit" in 2020, and realize the smooth trade of the whole UK. Sunak said at the press conference that Britain and Europe have made a decisive breakthrough, and the "Windsor Framework" has opened a "new chapter" in British-European relations.

　　The latest agreement on return is regarded as another important symbol of the breakthrough in the relationship between Britain and the European Union. The agreement was warmly welcomed by the British scientific community, and the British Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, Michelle Tang Lan, said on the same day that the agreement was a key step on the road of British scientific and technological development. European academic circles also welcome this.

　　In addition to the Horizon Europe project, Britain will rejoin the European Union’s Copernicus project, which uses satellites to monitor the impact of climate change on the earth and is very important for analyzing extreme weather events.

　　However, the agreement between Britain and the European Union also sets a threshold to limit the amount of funds available to British researchers. If the amount of project grants received by British researchers for two consecutive years is more than 8% higher than the amount paid by Britain, the British government must make up for the excess. On the contrary, if the British scientists receive less funding than the amount paid by the British government to the Horizon Europe project, the British government will be compensated. This threshold is only for the UK, not for EU member states.

　　Although Britain was able to return to the Horizon Europe project and Copernicus project, many scientists said that the loss brought to the British scientific community by the interruption of cooperation for two years was irreversible.

　　As a member of the European Union, due to the strong financial support of British universities, Britain usually gets more funds from the Horizon project than its contribution, but as an associate member, this situation is excluded.