Illustration from the ScienceIBusiness article: UK Prime Minister Rish Sunak with president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. Photo: Dati Bendo / European Union

Following the agreement on a post-Brexit trade deal on Northern Ireland, a joint statement with 18 signatories urges prompt action on UK association to the framework programme Horizon Europe, Copernicus and Euratom, saying “time is of the essence”: R&D sector statement on Horizon Europe association

Among the signatories are UK research charities such as the British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research UK, European university alliances including LERU and The Guild. 

The UK’s looming association also reignited calls, particularly from Deketelaere, for Switzerland to renew talks with Brussels about its association. 

Switzerland, like the UK, has also been blocked from associating because of a wider political impasse relating to the country’s relationship with the EU. Because of the lack of association, Switzerland was this year expelled from the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures, the body that coordinates scientific infrastructure across the continent. 

“We hope the UK’s progress gives an important signal to Switzerland and its government,” Deketelaere said. 

ScienceIBusiness reported about it the day after: European research community calls for UK’s swift association to Horizon Europe | Science|Business (sciencebusiness.net)