متین درانی says it’s vital that the UK remains part of the EU’s huge Horizon research programme
When voters in the UK decided by a narrow margin in 2016 to یورپی یونین چھوڑ دو (EU), it was clear to me that, despite all the turbulence that lay ahead, the country simply had to remain part of the EU’s €95bn Horizon scientific research programme.
Over the years, the UK has done incredibly well from its membership of Horizon, not only taking the lead on numerous multinational research projects but also securing far more money for research than it ever contributed.
The statistic that always caught my eye was that, in the seven years to 2013, UK scientists won €1.7bn in grants from the EU’s European Research Council – more than any other country.
The UK and EU’s Brexit deal, signed at the end of 2020, initially looked promising as it said that the UK would remain part of Horizon as an “associated” member. Whether you’d wanted to leave the EU or not, that seemed a sensible and pragmatic compromise.
Sadly, the partnership was never actually signed off and since then it’s become a political bargaining chip, particularly surrounding the status of Northern Ireland, as Michael Allen describes in the September issue of طبیعیات کی دنیا میگزین، جو اب باہر ہے۔
It should come as no surprise that the uncertainty over whether the UK remains part of Horizon has led to grant money being held up and British-based scientists having to give up leadership positions on Horizon projects.
The UK government has, thankfully, drawn up contingency plans if the country doesn’t end up being part of the current Horizon programme, which started last year.
But as the uncertainty drags on, the UK’s reputation as a desirable place to do science is increasingly under threat, not helped either by EU citizens no longer being able to move freely to Britain. Scientists will always “follow the money” and other European nations will increasingly be seen as a more desirable place to work (if they aren’t already).
Indeed, with the UK and Ireland being part of a عام سفر کے علاقے that dates back to long before the EU existed, I wonder how many British physicists will be tempted to start looking for jobs in Ireland?
Unsurprisingly, few of the concerns over UK science have been discussed by the contenders to succeed Boris Johnson as Conservative prime minister. Science rarely gets mentioned in political campaigns and it’s been even lower than usual on the agenda in the tussle between Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak to win the backing of Conservative party members. But as we all know, a strong economy needs a strong base of science and innovation.
Wouldn’t it be great if the new prime minister ended the uncertainty and agreed with the EU that the UK should remain a member of Horizon? It would send out a strong signal that the country is back in business and wants to be at the heart of European science.
Unfortunately, I’m not holding my breath.
ریکارڈ کے لیے، یہاں کا مکمل رن ڈاؤن ہے۔ مسئلہ میں کیا ہے. یاد رکھیں کہ اگر آپ اس کے ممبر ہیں۔ انسٹی ٹیوٹ آف فزکس، آپ پوری پڑھ سکتے ہیں۔ طبیعیات کی دنیا میگزین ہر ماہ ہماری ڈیجیٹل ایپس کے ذریعے iOS, اینڈرائڈ اور ویب براؤزر. ہمیں بتائیں کہ آپ اس مسئلے کے بارے میں کیا سوچتے ہیں۔ ٹویٹر, فیس بک یا ہمیں ای میل کرکے pwld@ioppublishing.org.
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