French plot fails to force Britain out of EU research projects

The commission had argued that it need to be limited to EU members because of to its “global strategic importance”.

France, whose commissioner Thierry Breton spearheaded the strategy, was in favour of the transfer. 

Even so, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Eire, Poland, the Netherlands and the Baltic states were versus the commission proposal. Those people international locations jointly would comfortably block any ban if it was place to a vote.

“You cannot just place the British isles in the similar box as Iran or China,” an EU diplomat explained.

The British isles negotiated associate membership of the Horizon programme, which partners businesses and universities, in previous year’s Brexit talks.

Britain is one particular of additional than a dozen charge-spending non-EU international locations that strategy to get component in the 7-12 months funding programme, which challenges grants.

Brussels is pursuing a “strategic autonomy” coverage, built to bolster the bloc’s means to protect alone from competitiveness from the US and China.

The news of the proposed ban appalled European universities when it broke at the finish of March. “The most current proposal by the European Commission to exclude extended-standing and trustful lover international locations … is not in the interest of Europe’s analysis local community nor the broader culture,” the Eurotech Universities Alliance explained at the time.