The Chair of the Science and Technology Committee, Rt Hon MP, has urged the EU and the
Government to accelerate negotiations on Horizon Europe
association, following a letter from the Science,
Innovation and Technology Secretary, .
In the letter, published by the Committee today, the Secretary of
State does not confirm whether the £1.6 billion funding allocated
to Horizon Europe association, and returned to the Treasury as
part of the Supplementary Estimates, will be re-allocated to the
Department at the upcoming Budget. She states, “any funding
required for association in future years will be made available
once there is clarity on UK association to EU programmes.”
The letter also reveals that the EU have not yet made any
proposals to address the financial terms of UK association to
Horizon Europe. As the UK’s association has been blocked for more
than two years, the UK expects to pay a reduced fee for its
participation.
Chair's comment
The Committee Chair, Rt Hon MP, has issued the following
comment in response to the Secretary of State’s letter:
“The Secretary of State is right to be concerned that we are
already more than 2 years into a 7-year Horizon Europe programme.
I would urge the European Commission and the Government to
commence and conclude these discussions without delay, which must
address what value remains accessible to the UK in the remaining
years of the programme.
“It is frustrating that the Commission's intransigence in
blocking the UK’s association has led to 1.6 billion pounds in
subscription funding set aside for Horizon this year having to be
returned to the Treasury. Some of these funds risk no longer
being available for UK scientific research, underlining the need
to accelerate the negotiation."
The Secretary of State was responding to a letter sent by the Chair
of the Committee on 27 February.
The Government committed last March that
“if the UK is unable to associate to Horizon Europe, the funding
allocated to Horizon association will go to UK government R&D
programmes, including those to support new international
partnerships.”
The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, said last
month that she was “happy to start immediately…work on an
association agreement” following the Windsor Framework
announcement.
