Implications of the UK Referendum Vote for EU Funding Proposals

Dear colleagues and friends,

In the past few days, we have received a number of inquiries from across the network about the outcome of the UK referendum vote, and more specifically its implications for UK-based members in EU funding proposals and consortia.

To reassure those with related concerns, we would like to share with you the official position of the European Commission. On Tuesday, June 28, Research Commissioner Carlos Moedas stated publicly that UK researchers and institutions remain fully eligible to apply for funding. By extension, there will be no bias, new criteria or negative weighting applied to UK members in any of the COM’s formal evaluation processes or expert assessment panels. 

“Until the end of the negotiations, the UK remains a member of the EU and therefore with all the rights and obligations, including in relation to research programmes like Horizon 2020,” Moedas said. "From a legal point of view, the outcome of the referendum has not changed anything. The EU law continues to apply in full to the UK, and in the UK, until the moment it is no longer a member state.” In reality, this means no change in the status quo until 2019 at the earliest.

Please do not hesitate to let us know if you have any immediate questions. Otherwise, let us move forward embracing a more positive British message from an earlier era of European turmoil: “Keep calm and carry on”!

Kind regards,

The ABIS Team