Response to reports that the UK will join Horizon Europe following the implementation of the Northern Ireland agreement

28 February 2023

Responding to comments by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission that on the implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol, work on associating the UK to the EU’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme will start “immediately”, President of the Microbiology Society, Professor Gurdyal Besra responds:

“Pressing global challenges, such as the rise of antimicrobial resistance and climate change can only be tackled through ambitiously funded international collaboration programmes. Microbiologists working on these issues, and other major threats, welcome the recent announcement as a positive step towards the UK accessing Horizon Europe and other international research endeavours. Since Brexit, UK researchers have been locked out of world-leading programmes. The Microbiology Society will closely follow the negotiation progress and repeats its call for an immediate association agreement to see the UK join Horizon Europe.”