Brexit Information

Anne-Françoise Morel – International Engagement Officer

The negotiation round between the EU and the UK has been closed, however with little success. Even the most fundamental principles seem to be too divergent to reach an agreement. A Brexit without agreement will affect academia, our society’s working and our members. Below some information regarding the potential impact on travel, research funding and Erasmus+.

SAHGB will keep track of the evolutions and seek opportunities with partner associations in the EU in order to maintain and facilitate exchanges and collaborations.

1.   Travel

Without  an agreement by the 31st of dec. 2020, travel between the UK and the EU will be highly affected. The most probable scenario is that travel for a period under 3 to 6 months will be possible without visa, although with a passport and some constraints which are not yet known. For travel for a period more than 3 to 6 months a valid visa will be required.

2.   EU Research funding

After Brexit UK universities might not be able to apply for EU research grants such as Horizon 2020 and their “follow up”.

The European Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) guarantees the UK’s full participation in EU funding programmes (e.g. the R&D flagship ‘Horizon 2020’ programme) for the period running from 2014 to the end of 2020. UK participants will continue to receive EU grant funding for the lifetime of individual Horizon 2020 projects, including projects finishing after the 31st of december 2020. The vast majority of Horizon 2020 projects will be able to continue as before during the transition period and beyond. This includes ERC, MSCA, and the EIC Accelerator grant element. A very limited number of UK Horizon 2020 projects, which involve access to security-related sensitive information restricted for EU Member States, may be unable to continue after EU Exit in their current form.

 In a post-Brexit future, Britain and UK organisations might be able to participate in new EU funding as an associate partner but strict criteria will need to be met, such as free movement of people – a crucial basis of Brexit. Furthermore, associated non-member states are expected to contribute to funds based on GDP and population, which, again is a key factor underlying Brexit, with Britain wanting to be financially independent from the EU. Given the circumstances, Britain may have to pay more than its current contribution to EU programmes to reap its benefits and/or accept limited involvement since it will no longer be a net contributor.

There is no doubt that Britain’s research and innovation sector has a tremendous stake in European funding. According to the latest statistics, Britain is the 2nd best funded country in Europe for Horizon 2020 SME Instrument, 2nd for the number of topics submitted and 3rd for the number of projects funded. The EU is at risk of losing one of the top-ranking R&D powerhouses.

3.   Erasmus

The Withdrawal Agreement foresees that the UK will continue to participate in the current 2014-2020 EU programmes, including Erasmus+, as if the UK was an EU Member State until the closure of the programmes.

The possible participation of the UK in future programmes after 2020 will depend on the outcome of the overall negotiations on the future relationship between the two parties. The most probable scenario is that the UK  could continue its participation in Erasmus as a Partner Country. This will however be dependent on the UK’s willingness to pay for participation to the program at the same rate as other Partner Countries.

For more detailed and up to date information see: https://www.ukro.ac.uk/Pages/brexit.aspx