London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Horizon: Scientists warn Sunak on EU research programme

Horizon: Scientists warn Sunak on EU research programme

PM Rishi Sunak should not go back on his pledge to re-join the EU's science research programme, the President of The Royal Society has warned.

Prof Sir Adrian Smith told BBC News that reneging on government promises would be damaging to UK science.

His comments follow reports that Rishi Sunak was holding back on re-joining the €95bn programme, known as Horizon.

BBC News understands that he is considering renegotiating a cut-down version of the Horizon programme.

The Royal Society represents Britain's leading scientists. Prof Smith told BBC News that ministers had consistently said that they were fully supportive of full association with the Horizon programme once the EU gave the green light.

"There is a great deal of concern and anxiety at the rumours that there is now a desire to renegotiate our association of the Horizon programme.

"It will mean that the continuing uncertainty will drift on and we will have more of the problems we are already seeing, such as a brain drain and the exclusion of leadership from major programmes," he said.

European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said talks on Horizon would begin immediately once the Windsor agreement was implemented


The assumption was that if differences over the Northern Ireland Protocol could be resolved, the UK would fully re-join the Horizon programme under terms similar to those it had before Brexit.

But BBC News understands that Mr Sunak is keen on an alternative research programme put together by ministers, known as "Plan B". This would be a UK-led programme involving collaboration with non-EU as well as European nations. It was developed in case a research agreement could not be reached with the EU.

Sources say that while some aspects of the Horizon programme are appealing to the Prime Minister, such as grants to individual scientists, he believes that larger institutional grants favour France and Germany and may not represent good value for money.

Prof Sir Adrian Smith: ''anxiety and concern'' among the UK's leading scientists


While no decision has yet been taken, one option under consideration is for a complete renegotiation of the terms of the Horizon agreement currently in place with the EU. This would allow the UK government to sign up to those parts of the programme that appealed, then use the remainder of the money that would otherwise have been spent on Horizon on its Plan B.

Prof Smith told BBC News that he didn't believe that such a plan would work.

"There is an assumption that we are in charge of the renegotiation and that we can have the good bits and get out of the not so good bits. All history shows that this kind of cherry-picking and negotiation Is not up for grabs.

''The whole thing is a package and the point is that the entire programme has in the past been good for the UK," he said.

Prof Sarah Main of the Campaign for Science and Engineering said that the UK's previous fruitful membership of the EU programme had attracted investment from the hi-tech companies her organisation represents and that her members want nothing short of the full association that is currently on the table.

"We want to see this with all speed. If the Prime Minister has not been close to the discussion, we need to make clear that that is the message from the research community and in the UK's economic interest to secure this deal as quickly as possible," she said.

Prof James Wilsdon, a specialist in research policy at University College London, said the failure to commit to the current arrangement on offer from the EU showed that the government was not listening to the science community.

"To keep the whole UK research system hanging on in limbo for two years while we ostensibly seek association; then to walk away when we finally have it in our grasp would, I think, be for many UK scientists, the final straw," he said.

Horizon Europe is a collaborative research programme involving Europe's leading research institutes and hi-tech companies. EU member nations each contribute funds which are then allocated to individuals or organisations by expert scientists based on the merit of research proposals.

The government negotiated associate membership of the programme in the withdrawal agreement following Brexit, because it felt it was important for the UK to be involved. But the EU went back on its part of the deal after disputes emerged over the Northern Ireland Protocol and British involvement in the prestigious programme has been left in limbo ever since.

The agreement of the Windsor Framework last week paved the way for the UK to re-join.

When the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the Mr Sunak were asked about re-entry to the Horizon programme at a joint press conference, Ms von der Leyen enthusiastically remarked that it was "good news for scientists and researchers, in the European Union and in the UK," but Mr Sunak did not comment.

He also failed to make a commitment to the programme when asked at Prime Minister's Questions this week and the FT has reported that he was holding back on committing to the programme.

Downing Street has been approached for comment but has not responded.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Nvidia’s $5 Billion Bet on Intel Reshapes AI Hardware Landscape
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Trump’s Quip on Biden and Google Lawsuit Revives Debate Over Antitrust Legacy
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
×