On Tuesday, Rishi Sunak is scheduled to hold talks with the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, at a Nato summit in Vilnius. The meeting will be scrutinised with uncharacteristic care by British scientists. They are praying, fervently, that the prime minister will use the occasion – as has been hinted – to announce his approval of a renegotiated agreement that will allow Britain to rejoin the Horizon Europe research programme.
Such a deal, researchers insist, is vital for British science. Brexit forced our withdrawal from the EU scheme, terminated our academics’ access to its gigantic funding pot and prevented the UK from playing a leading role in directing the course of European science. Now we have chance to rejoin Horizon, reboot our sorely depleted research coffers and rekindle our influence in international science.
