UK association to Horizon Europe: political agreement reached

On 7 September, the EC and UK government have released a Joint Statement on the UK´s association to Horizon Europe and Copernicus Earth-observation programme under the framework of Trade and Cooperation Agreement agreed in 2020. It will become effective as of 1 January 2024.

The deal comes after more than years of negotiations which led to an impasse following the brexit. The association concerns scientific and space collaboration.

As for the research, the two negotiating partners agreed that "UK researchers will be able to fully participate in the Horizon Europe programme on the same terms as researchers from other associated countries, including leading consortia, from the 2024 Work Programmes and onwards – including any 2024 calls opening this year. For calls from the 2023 Work Programmes, the European Commission will continue to administer transitional arrangements and the UK will continue to provide funding under the UK Guarantee."

As for the space collaboration, the UK´s association "to Copernicus will enable the UK's access to a state-of-the art capacity to monitor the Earth and to its services...[including] EU Space Surveillance and Tracking services", a component of the EU Space Programme.

The UK, however, will not be participating in Euratom or F4E (Fusion4Energy)/ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), due to "the UK government´s assessment that its industry's long absence from Euratom and F4E/ITER programmes cannot be reversed."

Crucial issue of the negotiations was how much the UK should contribute to the framework programme´s budget. The Trade and Cooperation Agreement regulates "the UK's financial contribution for the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 reflecting the fact that UK researchers did not participate in Horizon Europe or Copernicus from their beginning in 2021." The Commission´s Press Release details that paid twice a year "the UK will contribute almost €2.6 billion per year on average for its participation to both Horizon Europe and the Copernicus component of the Space programme.

Furthermore, "in case the UK obtains more receipts in grants than its contribution for grants, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement stipulates that there is an automatic correction to the UK's contribution if it reaches a threshold of 8% over two successive years. In case the UK receives significantly fewer grants than its contribution, other correction mechanisms are provided for." (more details here).

The legal instruments necessary to implement this agreement will be adopted by the Specialised Committee on Participation in Union Programmes after the approval by the Council of the European Union.

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