ERC working on budget backup plan in event UK is frozen out

European Research Council head says “everything is being looked at” amid doubts over country’s membership

The European Research Council is making contingency plans for the management of its budget if the UK does not sign up to the EU R&D programme within which the funder sits. The country’s exclusion would deprive the ERC of millions in expected contributions to its funding streams.

Non-member states can sign ‘association’ deals to participate in EU R&D programmes, such as the current Horizon Europe scheme. The UK agreed such a deal and has put aside billions of euros to pay for it, but the European Commission has stalled on formalising it due to political rows over Northern Ireland.