Brexit and arrangements for science and technology

The government's initial negotiating policy was outlined in a white paper published in February 2017, entitled The United Kingdom's exit from and new partnership with the European Union.

A policy requirement mentioned in the Preamble is promoting economic and social progress for the peoples of the EU member states, taking into account the principle of sustainable development and within the context of the accomplishment of the internal market and of reinforced cohesion and environmental protection.

[21] On 21 November 2016, Prime Minister Theresa May announced an increase in government investment in research and development worth £2 billion a year by 2020 and a new Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to back priority technologies.

In a blog post in July 2016, Merijn Chamon of the Ghent European Law Institute wrote that 'this option would allow the UK to pick and choose but the procedure is very cumbersome, which is also why today very few such agreements with third states have been concluded.

Prime Minister Theresa May stated unequivocally at the Conservative Party Conference in October 2016 that 'we are not leaving [the EU] only to return to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.

British ministers have expressed concern at the potential loss of innovation and business interest in the UK, if Britain isn't part of the Unified Patent Court after it leaves the EU.

When it was decided that the Unified Patent Court would be split into three locations, Prime Minister David Cameron 'succeeded in making sure that one of them – which will rule on pharmaceuticals and life sciences – was in London'.

The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency accounted for an estimated 20-30% of all drug assessments in the EU in 2018, earning the MHRA about £14 million a year.

The EU's Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation requires industry to register information on the safety of substances they use in ECHA's central database.

[42] In her Mansion House speech in March 2018, the Prime Minister suggested that the UK could retain associate membership of ECHA once it becomes a third country but, as of mid-2018, it was not clear whether such a proposal would be acceptable to the EU.

Regulatory divergence would oblige UK producers wishing to export chemicals to the EU to comply with two sets of rules, adding red tape and pushing up costs.

[44] In June 2018, the UK was one of nine EU countries which launched an autonomous European Intervention Initiative, along with Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.

The ITER project involves a consortium made up of China, the EU, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the United States.

Airbus Defence and Space in Stevenage built Sentinel 5P, an air pollution monitoring satellite that was launched in the UK in October 2017 as part of the Copernicus programme.

[54] The UK government stated in its future partnership paper on Collaboration on Science and Innovation that it wishes to remain fully involved in Copernicus, Galileo and the Space Surveillance and Tracking programme post-Brexit.

[53] Third countries may participate in ESA programmes but current arrangements tend to cover data access and usage, rather than eligibility to apply for large industrial contracts.

[54] In June 2018, a majority of EU member states sided with the European Commission in rejecting British demands to remain a full partner in the development of the Galileo satellite once the UK becomes a third country.

[55] In January 2018, the European Commission announced that the back-up security monitoring centre for Galileo, Europe's version of the Global Positioning System, would be relocated from Britain to Spain as part of the Brexit process.

[58][59][60][61][7] A group of leading British scientists wrote a letter to the Times on 22 May 2015 stating that ‘it is not sufficiently known to the public that the EU is a boon to UK science and innovation.

Freedom of movement for talent and ambitious EU science funding programmes, which support vital, complex international collaborations, put the UK in a world-leading position'.

Jean-Michel Blanquer, dean and president of ESSEC Business School, a member of ComUE, told the Times Higher Education Supplement that 'it would be a “win-win” situation for UK universities concerned about losing European funding opportunities and international students'.

[33] On 21 July 2018, the newly appointed Brexit Secretary, Dominic Raab, suggested that the UK might not honour the withdrawal agreement that guarantees continued funding of EU programmes until the end of Horizon 2020 in December 2020 through a transitional arrangement.

According to a technical note published by the government in August outlining the likely consequences of a no-deal Brexit for the UK's participation in Horizon 2020, UK institutions would no longer be eligible for three Horizon 2020 funding lines after 29 March 2019: European Research Council (ERC) grants, Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions (MSCA), and SME instrument (SMEi) grants for small innovative businesses under a no-deal Brexit scenario.

[74] Tim Hardman, managing director of Niche Science & Technology, said in January 2019 that his business was planning to set up an office inside the EU post-Brexit.

[75] After the British referendum in June 2016, Carlos Ghosn, Chief Executive Officer of Japanese vehicle manufacturer Nissan, expressed doubts about the company's future in the UK if the country left the Single Market.

After receiving written assurances from the government, Ghosn confirmed in October 2016 that its Qashqai and X-Trail SUV ranges would be built at its Sunderland plant but added that the firm would want to 're-evaluate the situation' once the final Brexit deal was concluded.

[citation needed] Senior executive at the EU arm of Eisai, a Japanese pharmaceutical company, David Jefferys, states that they are “not making any new investments in the UK until there is clarity”.

The British Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders told the House of Lords' Committee that ‘the validity of existing type approvals issued by the Vehicle Certification Agency once the UK has left the EU’ required ‘urgent legal clarification’.

[86] Mr Paul Everitt, Chief Executive Officer of the Aerospace and Defence Sector Group, told the committee that it is through the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) ‘that we gain access to all of our major markets, whether it is the US, China, Japan or elsewhere’.

[39] Tim Hardman, managing director of Niche Science & Technology, which runs clinical trials and research into medical drugs from its base in London, commented in January 2019 that 'Britain has been at the forefront of developing the EU's regulations.