Brexit deal and science

In response to the announcement today of a Brexit trade agreement Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society has said:

“Now that we have a Brexit deal, we look forward to seeing the details of arrangements to ensure the closest possible scientific cooperation.  Scientific progress thrives on collaboration and we have to make that as seamless as possible. The focus must now be on ensuring a fair and effective means to deliver appropriate association to EU science funding programmes, such as Horizon Europe, outlined in the agreement. Any delay in delivering such association will damage UK science and, in the event of any delay, the Government must take quick action to protect and stabilise the world class asset that is our science base.

“The past year has highlighted the benefits of international scientific cooperation – without it many more people would have died in the pandemic and we would not have vaccines set to be delivered.  With science and innovation at the heart of rebuilding after the pandemic, we need to be working together.  The sooner we can get on with that the better for everyone.”

The Royal Society will be reviewing the full details of the agreement when they become available..

Find out more about the Society's work on Brexit and UK science.