Raab ‘argued for UK to remain outside Horizon Europe’

Minister reportedly made case before post-Brexit deal and observers say political delays risk reopening arguments

The current justice minister and deputy prime minister Dominic Raab argued against the UK joining the EU’s research and innovation programme in the build-up to the post-Brexit trade deal of December 2020, Research Professional News has learned.

British association to the €95.5 billion (£81bn) Horizon Europe programme, which was agreed in the 2020 deal, has stalled as a result of political disagreements between the EU and the UK over Northern Ireland. The hold-up is causing angst for British researchers, who were encouraged to apply for European funding during 2021, as well as their European collaborators.