January 31, 2020

expert reaction to the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union

The UK is officially withdrawing from the European Union on the 31st January at 11:01PM.

Prof Edward Hill, Chief Executive, National Oceanography Centre, said:

“The challenge for British science on leaving the European Union is less about the progress of negotiations over coming months and more about whether the UK science funding system will seize the opportunity to adapt to our new place in the world.  An exemplar is oceanography which is inherently international, concerned with basin-decadal scale processes of change and variability.  The essential ‘in water’ infrastructures are globally distributed (not a fixed like CERN with national subscriptions), but made up of national contributions to internationally-coordinated, systematic sustained ocean observations – ocean moored arrays, autonomous submersibles, profiling floats and research ships.  Without these infrastructures to contribute, you are not in the game globally. EU funding has been quite suited to this style of endeavour. Indeed, the volume of EU funding has been less important than its functionality in the ocean research ecosystem – enabling collaborations between the key institutions with the necessary infrastructures in strategically-orientated programmes (though often unrecognised in our national science priorities). Britain has contracted out to the EU much of the strategic thinking about how to run internationally-engaged cooperative science, particularly involving European institutions and researchers with whom we need to work.   Regardless of the outcome of negotiations, it is now time for UK science funding bodies like UKRI to get out from under the comfort blanket of the EU and take responsibility for this thinking themselves.  The real challenge is for them to raise their game – big time!”

Dr Sir Paul Nurse, Director, The Francis Crick Institute, said:

“Today marks the next chapter in the UK’s relationship with Europe. Science thrives when it has no boundaries and the Francis Crick Institute is defined by our diversity and international nature. For British science to hold onto its world-leading position after Brexit, scientists must be able to move easily across Europe, participate fully in EU Framework Programmes and work seamlessly with partners across the channel. We urgently need a deal to provide certainty in these areas.

“For any deal to work, we also need political goodwill between the UK and EU. Only through collaboration and compromise can both sides secure a strong, positive future relationship.”

Prof Dame Anne Glover, President, The Royal Society of Edinburgh, said:

“With the UK’s withdrawal from the EU confirmed, the focus must now turn urgently to addressing the future relationship with the EU in key areas, including on research and innovation and migration. The Royal Society of Edinburgh has been clear that longstanding participation in EU Framework Programmes for research and innovation has greatly benefitted UK scientific endeavour and collaboration. The RSE remains clear that securing direct and full UK participation in Horizon Europe should be a priority in the next phase of negotiations for the UK Government. It is crucially important that the relationship with the EU on research and innovation is clarified as soon as possible in order to provide much needed certainty to researchers and institutions both within and beyond the UK.”

Prof John Womersley, Director-General, European Spallation Source (ESS), said:

“The UK science community is going to make a strong push for UK association as a full partner in Horizon Europe.  But I don’t think it’s well understood that Horizon Europe is a very broad programme, and the part that UK researchers really love – grant funding from the European Research council for blue skies work – is a small fraction of the total.  The majority of Horizon Europe funding will go for mission and application-driven work to address societal and economic goals like energy and climate and in many cases support European (EU) industrial competitiveness.  The European Commission has been pretty clear they don’t want the Uk to “cherry pick” only its favourite parts.  So association only makes sense, and will only be possible, if the UK science community agrees that this broader application-led mission is worthwhile being part of, and can persuade the UK treasury that it’s a good use of taxpayer money.  I don’t think either of these can necessarily be taken for granted.”

Professor Ravi Mahajan, President of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, said:

“The Royal College of Anaesthetists is urging the government to put patient safety and healthcare at the heart of the Brexit negotiations during the transition period.

“Leaving the European Union will have far-reaching implications for health and social care across the United Kingdom. We need to see a strong commitment from the government that any deal will not compromise the availability of life-saving medicines and medical devices, or reduce UK participation in European research and collaboration on data sharing and health security.

“As the recent report from the Migration Advisory Committee indicates, there will be winners and losers with any future immigration system. It is vital that the health and social care’s ability to recruit talent from Europe is protected, while the UK grows its own health and social care workforce. The Government must avoid putting any additional pressure on an already stretched NHS and a social care system which is at breaking point.

“The scale of the challenge must not be underestimated and the Government needs to work with Medical Royal Colleges and healthcare organisations to achieve the best deal for patients, doctors and the future of the NHS.”

Prof Mark Harris, Professor of Virology, University of Leeds, said:

“We hope that any future agreements between the UK and the EU post-Brexit will consider the extraordinary benefits that UK scientists have gained from being part of the EU, and make every effort to ensure that this mutually beneficial relationship can continue. The recent world-wide collaborative and transparent response of scientists to the coronavirus outbreak, rapidly sharing information and resources, has highlighted the way in which science can work to address the global problems that we face. In our increasingly interconnected world we need to build bridges, not walls.”

Declared interests

The nature of this story means everyone quoted above could be perceived to have a stake in it.  So our policy is not to ask for interests to be declared, instead they are implicit in each person’s affiliation.