Stick-to-Science initiative

EUTOPIA is among the first organisations supporting the Stick-to-Science initiative, calling the European Union to integrate the UK and Switzerland into the Horizon Europe research funding programmes.

‘Stick to Science’ calls for an open and collaborative research and innovation landscape in Europe that is free from political barriers. The entire European scientific community is invited to sign this initiative as of 8 February under the dedicated website www.stick-to-science.eu.

It comes as the UK’s and Switzerland’s participation in the EU’s research and innovation programme continues to be stalled by politics. The UK’s final association to Horizon Europe, the EU’s €95.5 billion (CHF 99.1 bn, £79.4 bn) research and innovation programme, remains tangled up in post-Brexit trade arrangements, while Switzerland also remains locked out of parts of the programme, pending government talks. In both cases, the EU puts political disputes ahead of scientific collaboration. Europe is missing out on scientific opportunities.

Switzerland and the UK are two long-standing and academically important partners in the European research and innovation landscape. The current situation means that the work of some of the best minds in Europe’s science and excellent research infrastructures are missing out on the additional scientific knowledge and resources of UK and Swiss institutions. These circumstances prevent Europe’s top scientists from working together to tackle global challenges such as climate change, pandemics, and food security.

Read the press release from the VUB and the statement of its rector Caroline Pauwels: https://press.vub.ac.be/vub-and-other-eutopia-universities-sign-stick-to-science-campaign

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