R&D sector issues joint call for research to be on the agenda at UK-EU talks

Dear President Von der Leyen and Prime Minister,

We are writing regarding the planned UK-EU summit in May. Together we represent universities and institutions all over the UK and thousands of researchers with a record of delivering collaborative R&D which has secured major breakthroughs in sectors central to both the UK’s industrial strategy and EU competitiveness.

We have a shared ambition for growth and prosperity but against a backdrop of heightened global instability, it is more important than ever that we work to consolidate relationships with our existing partners across the globe. We therefore welcome moves to “reset” UK-EU relations. Scientists, researchers and innovators across our shared continent will welcome it too. Working together, they can help answer many of the biggest challenges we face.

UK association to Horizon Europe shows what can be achieved through successful UK-EU dialogue. All partners benefit from the deal reached in 2023, boosting collaboration between researchers and disciplines and across borders in a programme that delivers more than individual nations acting alone.

We urge both sides to build on these successes and keep the future of UK-EU research collaboration on the agenda at the summit in May.

By working together on R&D, the UK and EU can train the skilled workforce of the future, create networks of knowledge and shared facilities, and drive advances in sectors that will shape the future of the global economy and society. Shared research priorities such as engineering biology, AI, cyber and energy security can help provide a framework for collaboration that could underpin enhanced cooperation in other areas such as defence and health, as well as lay the ground for increased business investment in R&D that will drive growth and boost productivity.

The summit in May will come at a critical moment for Europe. It will help set the terms of the UK and EU’s relationship in the months and years to come. As representatives of leading UK R&D institutions, we would encourage both sides to put growing R&D collaboration firmly on the agenda.

Yours sincerely,
Dr Tim Bradshaw, Chief Executive, Russell Group
Tom Grinyer, Institute of Physics Group Chief Executive
Dr Helen Pain MBE CSci CChem FRSC, Chief Executive, Royal Society of Chemistry
Dr Alicia Greated, Executive Director, Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE)