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Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has a billion pledge in hand: EU research funds against a quick end to the dispute over Northern Ireland’s special status. And Switzerland would be at a disadvantage.
What has Britain been promised? It sounds like carrot and stick, what European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promises when she and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appear before the media in Windsor at the end of February to announce the agreement in the dispute over the special status of Northern Ireland: British Universities and companies should be able to participate immediately in the EU research program Horizon Europe, which runs until the end of 2027 and is endowed with around 95 billion euros. So much for the carrot.
And now to the stick: The agreement – known as the Windsor Framework Agreement – must be passed in the British Parliament immediately. The compromise provides: Northern Ireland remains in the internal market; controls on goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland are only partially and not entirely abolished; the EU Court of Justice has the last word. In return, the Irish Assembly gets more say in new EU rules and can pull the emergency brake.
Where is it stuck so far? Pro-British unionists in Northern Ireland are demanding that Northern Ireland also complete Brexit; no longer part of the internal market; that physical controls in the Irish Sea will be completely lifted and that EU law will no longer apply in Northern Ireland.
In the Windsor Agreement, the EU agrees to wave goods and medical supplies destined for Northern Ireland through in the future. Complicated and expensive declarations would be eliminated. Northern Irish consumers, patients and companies would benefit greatly from this.
It is still unclear whether the unionist parties will abandon their maximum demands and accept the Windsor compromise. But time is of the essence: the deadline for submitting EU funding is the end of March 2023.
Why are British universities so keen to take part in Horizon Europe? It attracts big money. “Horizon Europe” has a budget of around 95 billion euros – a multiple of what the British government can provide for research and innovation.
In the previous program, “Horizon 2020”, Great Britain received around 8 billion euros from Brussels – the second most of all countries. But that was before Brexit. In the Brexit agreement at the end of 2020, it was agreed that the United Kingdom can apply for funding for research projects together with European partner organizations even after leaving the EU.
But the EU is taking its time – with the conclusion of the necessary association agreement, because Great Britain is demanding renegotiations of the Brexit treaty for Northern Ireland.
What is Horizon Europe? It is the world’s largest funding program. The EU Commission wants to encourage science, research and industry to work together across national borders. Innovative approaches are to be found with the 95 billion euros. In the fight against climate change, in the energy transition, in the digitization of business and administration, for health, nutrition and sustainable development.
Is Switzerland also involved in the EU research program? No. Switzerland is like Great Britain: the EU Commission uses research cooperation as a carrot and stick. When the Federal Council breaks off negotiations with the EU on an institutional framework agreement at the end of May 2021, nothing works anymore. Switzerland’s association with the EU research program is suspended.
Since then, Switzerland has been looking for alternatives – and in November 2022 signed a declaration of intent with Great Britain to work more closely together in science, research and cooperation. But should Great Britain be able to take part in the EU program again, Switzerland would at best be a second choice as a research partner.
A small ray of hope: the EU apparently also wants Switzerland to participate in the research program as soon as new negotiations on a framework agreement begin. In the best carrot style.