UK further extends funding support for its Horizon Europe research applicants

Britain said on Thursday it would extend a deadline to ensure UK applicants to the Horizon Europe scientific research programme will continue to receive funding until September to give more time to talks on rejoining the scheme. Britain's financial support had been due to end at the end of this month, after being extended several times already.

Britain said on Thursday it would extend a deadline to ensure UK applicants to the Horizon Europe scientific research programme will continue to receive funding until September to give more time to talks on rejoining the scheme. Under a Brexit trade agreement signed at the end of 2020, Britain negotiated access to a range of EU science and innovation programmes, including Horizon, the EU's largest funding programme for researchers with an overall budget of 95.5 billion euros ($101.7 billion).

The EU blocked Britain's participation because of a row over post-Brexit trade rules governing Northern Ireland, but an agreement to resolve that dispute was reached earlier this year, opening the door to Britain rejoining Horizon Europe. Britain's financial support had been due to end at the end of this month, after being extended several times already. It will now run until Sept. 30.

The British government said it had so far issued grants worth more than 1 billion pounds since the scheme was first launched in November 2021.