French plot fails to force Britain out of EU research projects

The fee had argued that it should really be limited to EU associates thanks to its “global strategic importance”.

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

On the other hand, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Eire, Poland, the Netherlands and the Baltic states have been against the fee proposal. Individuals nations around the world alongside one another would easily block any ban if it was put to a vote.

“You simply cannot just put the Uk in the same box as Iran or China,” an EU diplomat claimed.

The Uk negotiated associate membership of the Horizon programme, which associates corporations and universities, in last year’s Brexit talks.

Britain is one of much more than a dozen charge-having to pay non-EU nations around the world that approach to take part in the 7-yr funding programme, which problems grants.

Brussels is pursuing a “strategic autonomy” plan, created to bolster the bloc’s ability to defend alone from levels of competition from the US and China.

The information of the proposed ban appalled European universities when it broke at the close of March. “The latest proposal by the European Commission to exclude long-standing and trustful associate nations around the world … is not in the curiosity of Europe’s study local community nor the broader society,” the Eurotech Universities Alliance claimed at the time.