The UK has secured a bespoke deal to participate in Horizon Europe, the world’s largest research collaboration programme, and the Copernicus Earth Observation programme. The agreement, negotiated by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, offers improved financial terms for the UK and encourages British scientists to apply for grants and projects. The UK will also pursue its fusion energy strategy, backed by up to £650m until 2027. The deal is expected to create thousands of new jobs and help establish the UK as a science and technology superpower by 2030.
UK Joins Horizon Europe and Copernicus Programmes
The UK has secured a bespoke agreement to join Horizon Europe and Copernicus programmes, two of the world’s largest research collaboration programmes. The Prime Minister has negotiated improved financial terms for the UK’s participation, ensuring value for money for taxpayers. From today, UK researchers can apply for grants and participate in projects under the Horizon programme until 2027. The UK will also be able to join the governance of EU programmes, which it has been excluded from for the last three years.
Horizon Europe will provide UK companies and research institutions with opportunities to lead global work in developing new technologies and research projects, in areas ranging from health to AI. This will open up cooperation not only with the EU, but also with Norway, New Zealand, and Israel, which are part of the programme, and countries like Korea and Canada, which are looking to join.
Improved Financial Terms for UK Participation
The Prime Minister has secured improved financial terms for the UK’s association with Horizon Europe. These terms increase the benefits to UK scientists and provide value for money for UK taxpayers. They also mitigate the impact of the EU’s delays to the UK’s association on the participation rates of researchers.
The UK will not pay for the time where UK researchers have been excluded from since 2021, with costs starting from January 2024. This will provide breathing space to boost the participation of UK researchers in open calls for grants before the UK starts paying into the programme. The UK will also have a new automatic clawback that protects the UK as participation recovers from the effects of the last two and a half years.
Association to Copernicus Programme
The UK will also associate with Copernicus, the European Earth Observation programme. This will provide the UK’s earth observation sector with access to unique data, valuable for early flood and fire warnings, for example. It will also allow the sector to bid for contracts, which they haven’t been able to access for three years.
UK’s Own Fusion Energy Strategy
The UK has decided to pursue a domestic fusion energy strategy instead of associating with the EU’s Euratom programme. This will involve close international collaboration, including with European partners, and a new, cutting-edge alternative programme, backed by up to £650m to 2027. It will ensure UK taxpayer funding is spent in the UK’s best interests.
Impact on Jobs and Economy
This deal is set to create and support thousands of new jobs as part of the next generation of research talent. It will help deliver the Prime Minister’s ambition to grow the economy and cement the UK as a science and technology superpower by 2030. The Horizon programme is unrivalled in its scope and opens up a world of opportunity for cooperation on science that delivers real-world benefits for the UK – creating jobs, boosting our economy and opening up collaboration for the sector with some of our closest partners.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
Innovation has long been the foundation for prosperity in the UK, from the breakthroughs improving healthcare to the technological advances growing our economy. With a wealth of expertise and experience to bring to the global stage, we have delivered a deal that enables UK scientists to confidently take part in the world’s largest research collaboration programme – Horizon Europe. We have worked with our EU partners to make sure that this is right deal for the UK, unlocking unparalleled research opportunities, and also the right deal for British taxpayers.
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Michelle Donelan
Today is a fantastic day for UK science and our whole economy. We have listened to the sector, and through hard work and negotiation we have secured an excellent deal for researchers, taxpayers and businesses. The Horizon programme is unrivalled in its scope and opens up a world of opportunity for cooperation on science that delivers real-world benefits for the UK – creating jobs, boosting our economy and opening up collaboration for the sector with some of our closest partners, whether on tackling climate change or advancing cancer research. This deal is a crucial step forward on our mission to become a science and tech superpower by 2030.
President of UUK, Professor Dame Sally Mapstone
The entire research community, within our universities and beyond, will be delighted at the news that an agreement has been reached. Overcoming the obstacles to association was no small feat and we are grateful to the government and the commission for their perseverance to secure this successful outcome. Horizon Europe has been the basis of scientific collaboration for over 30 years. From early detection of ovarian cancer to developing clean energy networks involving dozens of universities and many industrial partners, Horizon lets us do things that would not be possible without that scale of collaboration.
Michelle Mitchell, Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK
Horizon Europe association is overwhelmingly in the best interests of cancer patients and scientists, and it is great news for cancer research that agreement has finally been reached between the UK and EU. There will be relief throughout the research community that the uncertainty of the last two and a half years has come to an end. Nearly three quarters of respondents to our survey of cancer researchers cited funding from the EU as important for their work, showing how crucial Horizon Europe association is for the future of cancer research. We hope that this deal paves the way for the UK’s ongoing participation in future European research programmes. It is essential that the European Commission, the UK Government and UK research funders work with urgency to rebuild the strong position the UK occupied in the Horizon programme, and get funds and global collaboration flowing again into our research institutions.
Dame Professor Angela McLean, Government Chief Scientific Adviser
This is great news for UK science and technology. International collaboration is a vital part of a thriving science ecosystem and association with the Horizon programme bolsters our plans to secure our status as a science and technology superpower.”
Quick Summary
The UK has secured a bespoke deal to participate in Horizon Europe, the world’s largest research collaboration programme, and the Copernicus, the European Earth Observation programme, offering British scientists access to unique data and the ability to bid for contracts. In addition, the UK will pursue its own fusion energy strategy, backed by up to £650m until 2027, instead of associating with the EU’s Euratom programme.
- The UK has secured a bespoke deal to participate in Horizon Europe, the world’s largest research collaboration programme, and the Copernicus, the European Earth Observation programme.
- The agreement was reached between UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen.
- UK researchers can now apply for grants and participate in projects under the Horizon programme until 2027.
- The UK will also be able to join the governance of EU programmes, which it has been excluded from for the past three years.
- The deal will allow UK companies and research institutions to lead global work in developing new technologies and research projects in areas such as health and AI.
- The UK will pursue its own fusion energy strategy instead of associating with the EU’s Euratom programme. This will involve international collaboration and a new programme backed by up to £650m until 2027.
- The deal is expected to create and support thousands of new jobs and help the UK become a science and technology superpower by 2030.
- The UK’s association with the Copernicus programme will provide the UK’s earth observation sector with access to unique data and the ability to bid for contracts.
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