Hungary, a member of the European Union, remains unable to participate in the Horizon Europe research programme, as the government has failed to enforce the conflict of interest rules set by the European Commission in the case of public interest trusts that maintain model universities and research institutes. All this affects 34 Hungarian universities and research institutes. Since 16 December, the Council of the European Union has prohibited these institutions from receiving new funding from Horizon Europe and Erasmus+, as a result of which the Hungarian partners are unable to sign support agreements.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom, which left the European Union after its exit from the European Union, announced that it could rejoin the Horizon program for scientific research, breaking a two-year deadlock with the European Union in the field of science funding, and the details of the agreement have already been worked out. with the European Commission.
The UK has made a larger financial contribution to join Project Horizon, which is seen as a major opportunity for UK research and taxpayers.
In addition, the UK participates in the European Copernicus Earth Observation programme, but not the EU’s Euratom programme, following a domestic fusion energy strategy. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, welcomed the political agreement, stressing that it could boost the success of scientific research across Europe.
As part of the Brexit deal signed at the end of 2020, the UK has requested access to several EU science and innovation programmes, including the Horizon programme, which has a large annual budget. At first, disagreements over Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading rules kept it out of the research programme, but the resolution of that issue in February cleared the way for the UK to rejoin.
Funding rules have been at the center of the talks, with the UK arguing against payments for the freeze period and the introduction of a ‘refund’ mechanism to ensure UK scientists are fairly compensated.
Overall, the agreement represents a positive step forward in EU-UK cooperation in the interests of common interests, and the two sides work together in a spirit of friendly cooperation.
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