The UK government has written to the European Commission demanding that the bloc ends "persistent delays" over the UK's access to the £81bn ‘Horizon Europe’ programme, as well as similar research grants.
Under the 2020 Brexit agreement, the UK was to obtain associate membership of the bloc's research initiatives post-Brexit. However, it was revealed earlier this year that the EU has been purposefully delaying the UK’s membership as a response to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s threat to tear up the Northern Ireland Protocol, a vital part of the Brexit deal.
"The EU is in clear breach of our agreement, repeatedly seeking to politicise vital scientific cooperation by refusing to finalise access to these important programmes," foreign minister Liz Truss said in a statement.
In addition to Horizon Europe, the UK is yet to obtain formal access to Copernicus, the Earth observation programme on climate change, Euratom, the nuclear...