Nobelists back petition for Swiss and UK Horizon association

A petition calling for the European Union, UK and Switzerland to “rapidly reach association agreements” allowing the two countries to join Horizon Europe has been launched online.

The Stick to Science campaign has been started by the Swiss federal research institutions École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and ETH Zurich, Universities UK International, the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society. 

The first institutional signatories include other major European universities, funders and academic lobby groups. Among the more than 200 signatories who have so far put their name to the call are nine Nobel laureates and three Fields medal winners.

Other luminaries include Patrick Flandrin, president of the French Academy of Sciences; Martin Stratmann, president of the Max Planck Society; and Antoine Petit, president of the French National Centre for Scientific Research. 

“It is time to stop playing politics and put the interests of people first. That means getting the Horizon Europe association deals done and once again facilitating the best of scientific cooperation,” said Adrian Smith, president of the Royal Society. 

“Throughout the Brexit process we, and colleagues from all over Europe, argued that it was in our common interest to be part of this programme. It was agreed by the UK and EU as part of the trade and cooperation agreement – but the process is now stalled,” said Vivienne Stern, director of UUK International. 

While campaigners in the UK and Switzerland have found common cause, the details of the political machinations between the two countries and the EU are quite different.

The Swiss government walked away from wider treaty talks with the EU in May 2021. The European Commission dropped the country from a list of countries due to join Horizon Europe a month later.

In the months since, the commission has said it is not able to discuss the next steps toward association until the Swiss government returns to the table for wider talks. 

In contrast, the UK has agreed the terms under which it would join Horizon and finished talks in December 2020, but final sign-off for participation lies in a joint UK-commission committee. 

The first time the committee met in December 2021, commission staff confirmed that the delay in signing off was due to wider political difficulties. 

“We simply want all sides to get on with it and speed up association for the UK, and for Switzerland, and not to allow other issues to stand in the way of that,” said Ms Stern.

ben.upton@timeshighereducation.com