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Research Development is currently working through the potential implications of the UK's withdrawal from the European Union (EU) on research funding and participation in H2020.

The Research Development Team have received a number of queries from our academic and research community.  In response the team have sought clarification from the Department for the Economy, Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, UK Research Office and the European Commission.  The information detailed below summarises the current position regarding Brexit and addresses the broad range of questions raised with the Team.

Key Messages from the UK Government European Commission

  • Both the European Commission and the UK Government continue the work towards agreeing a deal. Under the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK would continue to participate in the programmes financed by the current EU Budget until their closure.
  • The EU have proposed a contingency framework is a proposal by the European Commission covering a number of measures that could be implemented in the event of a no-deal Brexit, and would cover a period until an agreement can be reached.
  • The UK Government's Underwrite and the Post-Exit Extension stand in the event of a no-deal. They have been put in place to ensure that UK organisations will continue to receive funding in the event of a no-deal.
  • UK organisations should continue to log their Horizon 2020 grants on the UKRI Portal.

BREXIT and continued UK Participation in EU Funding for Research, Innovation and Higher Education

  • The Joint Report from the UK Government and the negotiators of the European Union (8 December 2017) outlines the agreement, in principle, made between the EU and the UK. The key commitment regarding EU programmes is that:
    “Following withdrawal from the Union, the UK will continue to participate in the Union programmes financed by the MFF 2014-2020 until their closure (excluding participation in financial operations, which give rise to a contingent liability for which the UK is not liable as from the date of withdrawal). Entities located in the UK will be entitled to participate in such programmes. Participation in Union programmes will require the UK and UK beneficiaries to respect all relevant Union legal provisions including co-financing. Accordingly, the eligibility to apply to participate in Union programmes and Union funding for UK participants and projects will be unaffected by the UK's withdrawal from the Union for the entire lifetime of such projects."
  • On 14 November 2018, both sides reached an agreement, in principle, on the terms of the draft Withdrawal Agreement, which once ratified, will translate the Joint Report into legal text. This foresees EU programme participation continuing, as it currently does for the UK until the end of 2020 and for the lifetime of individual projects.
  • In a no deal scenario, the UK Government has committed to underwrite competitive EU funding for all successful UK bids submitted before exit, even if they are notified of their success after exit, for the lifetime of the projects. The UK Government also announced a Post EU Exit Guarantee Extension to cover UK participants’ funding in all Horizon 2020 calls open to third country participants from the date of exit and for the entire current EU budget period until the end of 2020.
  • The European Commission has published the "Proposal for a Council Regulation on measures concerning the implementation and financing of the general budget of the Union in 2019 in relation to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union​" provides more details on the Commission's plans, including the reasons for the proposal and what is foreseen for UK beneficiaries of EU funding, including conditions for eligibility. In the proposal, the Commission states that: "The proposed contingency framework provides for the possibility to maintain the eligibility to benefit from Union financing for the UK and UK entities under legal commitments entered into before the withdrawal date beyond that date and for a limited time period (until 31 December 2019)." This is linked to conditions that need to be met. These are detailed in Article 2 of the proposal and include: a written commitment by the UK and continued contributions to the EU budget for 2019, a first payment by 30 April 2019 and acceptance of controls and audits by the UK. The contingency framework would cease to apply if the UK discontinues the payments to the budget.
  • Until the date when the UK leaves the EU, it remains a Member State, with all the rights and obligations that entails. This means that UK entities are eligible to participate in all aspects of the Horizon 2020 programme while we remain a member of the EU.
  • The Government’s priority remains ensuring the draft Withdrawal Agreement is finalised. This would mean that UK Horizon 2020 participants and projects would be unaffected by EU exit.
  • The Government’s Underwrite Guarantee and the Post EU Exit Guarantee Extension remain in place in the event that commitments made in the Joint Report are not met.

The Underwrite Guarantee

  • The Underwrite Guarantee was a statement laid down in Parliament in July 2018 and it is a legal commitment.
  • It represents a commitment by UK Government to fund UK portion of bids in case of a successful application to Horizon 2020.
  • Funding is for the lifetime of projects, even if these last beyond 2020.
  • The withdrawal agreement/Joint report commits both sides to ‘business as usual’ for H2020/MSCA until – at least-the end of 2020.

UK Eligibility to Co-ordinate and Participate in H2020

The draft Withdrawal Agreement envisages full UK participation in Horizon 2020 for the lifetime of projects, which includes participating in and coordinating consortia. The UK and EU's intention is that the eligibility of UK researchers and businesses to participate in Horizon 2020 will remain unchanged for the remaining duration of the programme. This is set out in the Financial Provisions of the draft Withdrawal Agreement, which has been agreed by both UK and Commission negotiators and welcomed by the other 27 EU countries at March European Council. The draft Withdrawal Agreement envisages that existing projects will continue to receive an uninterrupted flow of EU funding for the lifetime of the project, and that UK participants will be eligible to bid for Horizon 2020 funding for the duration of the programme, and can continue to participate as coordinators.

A ‘third country’ can still Coordinate a project, there no legal reason to indicate that this is not possible and even in the case that the Underwrite Guarantee is triggered and the Co-ordinating project no longer receives funding directly from the EU they can still ‘handle’ and distribute the funds to other beneficiaries. Provided projects meet the eligibility criteria in that at least three legal entities within the consortium should be from member states or associate countries.

Research Funding in a No-Deal Scenario

UK institutions remain fully eligible to apply for EU funding until the day the UK departs from the EU. After the UK’s departure from the EU, eligibility to apply for EU funding will be dependent on the wider agreement between the UK and EU. In case of a no-deal Brexit, the UK will be considered a third country and eligibility to apply for EU funds will be dependent on the legal framework in place at the time. In the unlikely event of a ‘no deal’ scenario, it is the UK Government’s intention that UK researchers and businesses would be able to apply to and participate in all Horizon 2020 calls open to third country participants from the date of exit, with funding provided via the extended guarantee. Third country participation is a well-established part of Horizon 2020 - entities from third countries currently participate in and lead consortia in a wide range of collaborative programmes.

The EU Commission recently published the "Proposal for a Council Regulation on measures concerning the implementation and financing of the general budget of the Union in 2019 in relation to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union​" provides more details on the Commission's plans regarding UK beneficiaries of EU funding, including conditions for eligibility.

The proposal is part of the contingency framework for a no-deal scenario where relations between the UK and the EU would be left without legal arrangements for a period of time, and is aimed (according to the rational provided in the text) to minimise unnecessary disruption for beneficiaries of EU spending programmes until a financial settlement is agreed.

In the proposal, the Commission states that:

"The proposed contingency framework provides for the possibility to maintain the eligibility to benefit from Union financing for the UK and UK entities under legal commitments entered into before the withdrawal date beyond that date and for a limited time period (until 31 December 2019)."

This is linked to conditions that need to be met. These are detailed in Article 2 of the proposal and include a written commitment by the UK and continued contributions to the EU budget for 2019, a first payment by 30 April 2019 and acceptance of controls and audits by the UK. The contingency framework would cease to apply if the UK discontinues the payments to the budget.

It is also proposed that, provided the conditions above are met:

"the UK and UK entities would be eligible in 2019 for the purposes of conditions set in any calls, tenders, contests or any other procedure which may lead to financing from the Union's budget." and that the "proposed contingency framework would also allow financing of actions in which Member States and Member States' entities are beneficiaries where the eligibility depends on the United Kingdom being a Member State, provided that these specific actions are implemented under legal commitments signed or adopted before the date of withdrawal."

It is explicitly stated that the proposal was drawn up in response to calls from the European Council and that due to the urgency for preparing the proposal no stakeholder consultations are being held. Instead, the procedure only foresees adoption by the Council (with consent of the European Parliament).

The Research Development Team will continue to monitor developments closely and will update Researchers and Departments as soon as further clarification is provided.

For further information please contact Nuala Toman at n.toman@ulster.ac.uk

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