Brexit: UK minister says EU is ‘weaponising science’ in row over Northern Ireland

The UK is making plans to launch its own science funding programme in September, science minister George Freeman tells New Scientist, if the EU refuses access to the Horizon scheme

By Jonathan O’Callaghan

The UK will launch its own version of the European Union’s €100 billion Horizon research scheme in September if a deal on continued access cannot be reached, says the UK science minister, George Freeman. Freeman has accused the EU of “weaponising science” as the UK’s continued participation in Horizon, the largest collaborative research programme in the world looks increasingly unlikely.

As part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement signed in December 2020, the EU agreed to allow the UK to remain part of the Horizon …