The letter also makes clear that no proposals have yet been made by the EU to deal with the financial conditions of the UK’s association with Horizon Europe.
Following a letter from Michelle Donelan, the Secretary for Science, Innovation, and Technology, the Chair of the Science and Technology Committee, Rt Hon. Greg Clark, MP, has urged the EU and the Government to quicken the process of negotiating the association of Horizon Europe.
The Secretary of State does not state in the letter, which was made public by the Committee today, whether the Department will receive the £1.6 billion in funding that was given to the Horizon Europe association and returned to the Treasury as part of the Supplementary Estimates.
She says that once there is clarity regarding the UK’s association with EU programmes, “any funding required for association in future years will be made available.”
The letter also makes clear that no proposals have yet been made by the EU to deal with the financial conditions of the UK’s association with Horizon Europe. The UK anticipates paying a lower participation fee because its association has been blocked for more than two years.
In response to the Secretary of State’s letter, the Committee Chair, Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, made the following statement: “The Secretary of State is correct to express concern over the fact that the 7-year Horizon Europe programme has already been in place for more than two years. I would implore the European Commission and the government to start and finish these discussions as soon as possible.
They must cover what value is still available to the UK in the remaining programme years. It is disappointing that 1.6 billion pounds in subscription funding set aside for Horizon this year had to be returned to the Treasury due to the Commission’s intransigence in blocking the UK’s association.
There is a chance that some of these funds won’t be available for UK scientific research, which emphasises the urgency of moving the negotiations along.
In her letter, the Secretary of State addressed concerns raised in one that the Committee Chair had written on February 27.
The UK government promised in March that “the funding allocated to Horizon association will go to UK government R&D programmes, including those to support new international partnerships,” if the UK is unable to associate with Horizon Europe.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, declared last month that she was “happy to start immediately working on an association agreement” in response to the Windsor Framework announcement.
Following a letter from Michelle Donelan, the Secretary for Science, Innovation, and Technology, the Chair of the Science and Technology Committee, Rt Hon. Greg Clark, MP, has urged the EU and the Government to quicken the process of negotiating the association of Horizon Europe.
The Secretary of State does not state in the letter, which was made public by the Committee today, whether the Department will receive the £1.6 billion in funding that was given to the Horizon Europe association and returned to the Treasury as part of the Supplementary Estimates.
She says that once there is clarity regarding the UK’s association with EU programmes, “any funding required for association in future years will be made available.”
The letter also makes clear that no proposals have yet been made by the EU to deal with the financial conditions of the UK’s association with Horizon Europe. The UK anticipates paying a lower participation fee because its association has been blocked for more than two years.
In response to the Secretary of State’s letter, the Committee Chair, Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, made the following statement: “The Secretary of State is correct to express concern over the fact that the 7-year Horizon Europe programme has already been in place for more than two years. I would implore the European Commission and the government to start and finish these discussions as soon as possible.
They must cover what value is still available to the UK in the remaining programme years. It is disappointing that 1.6 billion pounds in subscription funding set aside for Horizon this year had to be returned to the Treasury due to the Commission’s intransigence in blocking the UK’s association.
There is a chance that some of these funds won’t be available for UK scientific research, which emphasises the urgency of moving the negotiations along.
In her letter, the Secretary of State addressed concerns raised in one that the Committee Chair had written on February 27.
The UK government promised in March that “the funding allocated to Horizon association will go to UK government R&D programmes, including those to support new international partnerships,” if the UK is unable to associate with Horizon Europe.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, declared last month that she was “happy to start immediately working on an association agreement” in response to the Windsor Framework announcement.