Minister for Higher Education has welcomed the ratification of
the agreement for UK participation in EU programmes, Horizon
Europe and Copernicus.
Mr Dey said:
“The Scottish Government has always believed full association to
the Horizon Europe programme was the best outcome for Scotland in
the circumstances, and we have continued to work with our EU
partners to tackle challenges in areas of mutual interest,
despite the impacts of Brexit causing needless delays and
uncertainty to the Research and Innovation sector.
“We welcome this formalisation of the agreement for association
to EU programmes, Horizon Europe and Copernicus. Horizon Europe
is globally unparalleled and Scotland has benefited greatly from
the scope, scale and prestige of this €95.5 billion European
Research & Innovation Framework programme.
“The full benefits for Scotland can only be realised by EU
membership, as set out in our Building a New Scotland EU paper,
in conjunction with other advantages such as freedom of movement
for citizens.
“However, there is an opportunity to maximise our participation
in Horizon Europe and continue to work with the research and
innovation sector in Scotland and beyond to reinforce our
valuable relationships.”
Background
Scottish researchers have continued to work with EU partners on
key global challenges, including tidal energy, sustainable ocean
management, preventing Alzheimer’s disease, developing
technologies to support space satellites, and designing
antibodies to help diagnose and treat Covid-19.
In Horizon Europe’s predecessor, Horizon 2020, Scotland
collaborated with over 150 countries and secured around 11% of
the UK’s overall funding with 8% of the population share.
Building a New Scotland: an
independent Scotland in the EU
