Coimbra Group welcomes announcement of UK association to Horizon Europe
08 September 2023
The Coimbra Group welcomes the announcement of a long-awaited political agreement between the European Commission (EC) and the United Kingdom (UK) government paving the way for UK’s association to Horizon Europe as well as to Copernicus Earth Observation programme.
We are delighted that UK researchers will be able to fully participate in the Horizon Europe programme on the same terms as other associated countries. From the 2024 Work Programmes and onwards UK researchers will be eligible to lead consortia. For calls from the 2023 Work Programmes, the EC will continue to administer transitional arrangements and the UK will continue to provide funding under the UK Guarantee.
Ludovic Thilly, Executive Board Chair declares: “Finally, common sense and collective interest have prevailed. In times of multiple crises such as those we are living through, open international research collaboration has never been so essential. We will now do everything we can to support Coimbra Group members in resuming smooth cooperation across the Channel for the sake of excellent research. Given its place among scientific nations, it is also an important step that the UK can soon take part in the discussions about the next framework programme and post-2027 research priorities.”
The Coimbra Group, which brings together 40 long-established European multidisciplinary universities including 3 in the UK, the University of Bristol, Durham University and the University of Edinburgh, has long been calling for a swift agreement on the association of both the UK and Switzerland to Horizon Europe.
Questions and Answers on the UK’s association to Horizon Europe and Copernicus (European Commission’s website)