answer text |
<p>It is disappointing that the EU has politicised scientific cooperation by inappropriately
linking the UK participation in EU Programmes and the Northern Ireland Protocol.</p><p>
</p><p>Our preference remains association to the EU programmes as agreed under the
Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), including Horizon Europe, and we continue to
do everything we can to secure this. The EU is in breach of the agreement reached
under the TCA for the UK to participate in EU programmes and these unjustified delays
are causing uncertainty for our research and business communities. That is why we
entered into formal consultations with the EU, which are a mechanism set out in the
TCA to resolve issues between the UK and the EU. At the UK-EU Specialised Committee
meeting on 22 September, which marked the end of the consultations period, the UK
again request that the EU fulfil its obligation to finalise the UK’s association to
EU Programmes. It is regrettable that the EU continues to decline this request. The
UK government is now considering next steps. Our priority is to support the UK’s world
leading R&D sector and we have already outlined potential options for doing so.</p>
|
|