French plot fails to force Britain out of EU research projects

The fee had argued that it really should be limited to EU customers owing to its “global strategic importance”.

France, whose commissioner Thierry Breton spearheaded the program, was in favour of the shift. 

Nonetheless, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Ireland, Poland, the Netherlands and the Baltic states ended up in opposition to the fee proposal. These nations jointly would comfortably block any ban if it was put to a vote.

“You cannot just put the United kingdom in the similar box as Iran or China,” an EU diplomat said.

The United kingdom negotiated affiliate membership of the Horizon programme, which partners providers and universities, in final year’s Brexit talks.

Britain is 1 of a lot more than a dozen price-paying non-EU nations that program to get element in the seven-year funding programme, which concerns grants.

Brussels is pursuing a “strategic autonomy” policy, created to bolster the bloc’s skill to protect itself from competitiveness from the US and China.

The news of the proposed ban appalled European universities when it broke at the conclude of March. “The latest proposal by the European Commission to exclude long-standing and trustful associate nations … is not in the desire of Europe’s exploration group nor the broader modern society,” the Eurotech Universities Alliance said at the time.