The UK’s association to the EU €95.5bn Horizon Europe R&I programme has become a lengthy legend which continues at the risk of becoming monotonous. Whilst the UK government keeps everyone in suspense with regards to what will happen next, at the eleventh hour it repeatedly announces the same old verdict, which is a three months extension to the Horizon Europe Guarantee scheme. We have heard this quite a few times over the past two years and it is now again in the news, with the Guarantee being extended until the end of September 2023. What is the impasse this time and what can we expect next?

It seems that the UK government doesn’t want to risk putting in more money than it can take out of this joint venture and is now asking for a discount to the fees agreed in 2020. There are different points of view to this bargaining. On the one hand, the UK‘s science minister George Freeman calls this a request for “a fair reassociation price” which aims to compensate for the two years spent outside of the programme. On the other hand, peers from the UK research community view it as a political game which risks not only damaging the UK’s reputation but also missing a unique opportunity for participation in the world’s largest multilateral research programme. Although the UK government has introduced the alternative to the association with Horizon Europe, the Pioneer programme, there are no indications as to when a decision will be made between these two options, neither convincing arguments regarding the advantage of selecting the latter.

In the meantime, the European Commission is moving fast, reaching far and wide, attracting significant non-European R&I actors into Horizon Europe. In February 2023, the programme opened its doors to researchers from New Zealand, allowing them to both apply for funding and to lead proposals for collaborative projects. Last month, the Commission started formal talks with Japan and South Korea on their association to the programme and last week it has proposed a plan to collaborate with Latin America and the Caribbean. Moreover, there are ongoing negotiations with Canada and reported intention to also include Australia and Singapore into Horizon Europe later this year.

Read more about international R&I landscapes and funding opportunities on the RIS Intranet page.