The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) just released new figures attesting to the relevance of Switzerland and the UK in terms of scientific excellence.
It states that “Switzerland and the UK have only had limited access to Horizon Europe as non-associated countries to date, given the stopped talks on June 2021 for Switzerland and the unclear path post-Brexit for the UK. If they remain largely excluded, Horizon Europe could be a step backwards in enhancing the global competitiveness of European research. Both countries have been key participants in Pillar I on Excellent Science and thus made an important contribution to the competitiveness of European research.” Moreover the analysis warns that “Excluding Switzerland from Horizon Europe prevents a win-win deal for research collaboration. Combined with the UK’s exclusion, it could lead to a serious setback on the road to strengthening the European Research Area.”
The article concludes that “Stick to Science is as much about addressing the interests of Switzerland and the UK as it is about the defence of European research as a whole.”
The full contribution can be found on the SNSF Data Portal under: European research excellence in times of non-association (snf.ch)