UK: European organizations call for quick assembly

The scientific community in Europe appealed in an open letter to the European Union Commission on Thursday to make Great Britain a co-partner of the European Union’s Horizon Europe research program as soon as possible. To this end, political differences should be overcome. The signatory organizations include more than 1,000 universities, 56 academic academies, 33 conferences of university presidents, and tens of thousands of leading scholars, according to the letter.

The signatories are concerned that the UK’s link with Horizon Europe, which has so far been assumed to be secure, may still fail. Ten months after the conclusion of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom, there is still no clear timetable for accession. This leads to uncertainty in science, which in turn can jeopardize ongoing and planned projects and thus harm research.

British universities are an indispensable part of the European research landscape and are among the closest and strongest cooperation partners of European universities. The German co-site U15 emphasizes that the British-German cooperation has produced excellent and indispensable research for solving key tasks ahead, such as climate neutrality. “Great Britain’s association with Horizon Europe would be a clear win-win for all parties and an important sign of strengthening international scientific cooperation,” said Professor Georg Crouch, Governing Council Chairman of the German U-15 University and President of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.

To the signatories of open letter They include the European University Association (EUA), the Organization of All European Academies (ALLEA), the Association of Academies of Sciences in Europe, or the European Association of Doctoral Candidates and Young Researchers (Eurodoc).