The U.K. has reached a deal to join the E.U.’s landmark Horizon research initiative, a move that will allow British scientists and companies to win funding from and collaborate with their European peers in the $100 billion program.
Researchers and business groups have been calling for such a deal for months, warning that without membership, the U.K. risked being left behind even as it aspires to cement itself as a scientific and technology powerhouse. Research institutions widely celebrated the news that a deal had been struck.
In announcing the agreement Thursday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said U.K. scientists could immediately start applying for funding from the program.