Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper), EU member states have given the light to the UK’s participation in flagship EU schemes.
On Wednesday, the EU said Britain could take part in both the Horizon Europe and Copernicus programmes.
This approves the agreement in principle reached between the Commission and the UK government on 7 September.
According to this, researchers and organisations in the UK will be able to participate in the EU’s research and innovation programme Horizon Europe on equal terms with their counterparts in the EU member states.
The UK will also participate in the EU’s earth observation programme Copernicus and have access to the EU’s space surveillance and tracking services.
The UK’s participation will be subject to all the safeguards of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, including the payment of a participation fee into the EU budget.
A spokesman for the EU Council said, “This decision will enable the EU to formalise the agreement in principle reached with the UK by adopting a decision within the EU-UK Specialised Committee on Participation in Union programmes.”
The committee, set up under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, is expected to adopt the decision before the end of the year.
The UK’s participation in EU programmes is governed by the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which entered into force on 1 May 2021. The agreement on the Windsor Framework, concerning a new joint way forward on the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, has allowed the EU and the UK to turn the page in their relations and deepen their relationship in areas of shared interest.
