Dear President of the European Commission

Adrian Smith on [lack of] Horizon Europe

sunset on the horizon…

“The window for association is closing fast, and we need to ensure that political issues do not get in the way of a sensible solution. We have always been very clear that association is the preferred outcome for protecting decades of collaborative research, and the benefits this has brought to people’s lives across the continent and beyond.” Adrian Smith

As reported in the Guardian of today a terrible impact of BoJo’s Vote Leave Brexit the UK Government failing to implement the Northern Ireland protocol is that this threatens ERC funding for UK scientists, as the associate membership of Horizon Europe was part of the Brexit negociations, whose “deal”  has been delayed because of this. About a hundred new ERC grant recipients who are currently located in the UK have to either relocate to (eager) EU universities or to give up this most prestigious funding…

Stick to Science initiative [petition

The Stick to Science initiative has been set up by the European research community calling for open and barrier-free collaboration among Europe’s research and innovation (R&I) actors, who all share the same values. The initiative is an active response to the delayed  progression of association agreements with Switzerland and the United Kingdom (UK), which are being held up by political barriers that have nothing to do with science.

The signatories request that the European Council, Parliament, Commission, as well as European Union (EU) Member States, and the governments of the UK and Switzerland, recognise that advancement in R&I is best achieved when all actors in science and innovation work together across geographic boundaries. This has never been more important than now, as the world faces serious global challenges (e.g., mitigating pandemics, climate change, and addressing food security). Allowing political differences to prevent scientific collaboration is contrary to the interests of society at large.

The signatories urge the EU, the UK and Switzerland to rapidly reach association agreements so that the two countries can contribute scientifically and financially to the strength of Horizon Europe and to a truly open, inclusive and excellence-driven European Research Area.

 

total boycott [reposted from Nature]

Ukrainian scientists are rallying to convince international organizations to take stronger action against Russia. More than 130 people have signed an open letter to the European Commission and member states of the European Union calling for an urgent suspension of all funding to, and international collaboration with, Russian institutions. “The European Union cannot provide funding to the institutions subordinated to Putin’s regime anymore if the EU acts based on the declared values pointed at EU Treaties,” it says.

The letter, initiated by Ukraine’s Council of Young Scientists, says that Russia must not be involved in EU programmes such as the flagship research programme Horizon Europe; the exchange scheme Erasmus+e; international collaborations such as the particle-physics research laboratory CERN near Geneva, Switzerland; and the international nuclear-fusion project ITER.

Some Ukrainian scientists say that although they appreciate the support of their Russian counterparts, the actions announced so far do not go far enough. In particular, Russian academic institutions have failed to condemn the aggression, says an open letter from the Academy of Sciences of the Higher School of Ukraine. Restrictions on Russian scientists must be all-encompassing, they say: “We urge that researchers with an affiliation of such institutions not be admitted to international grant teams, not be invited to international conferences, and not be published in leading international scientific journals.”