Leading university groups have warned Brussels against barring academics from outside the European Union from participating in?Horizon Europe projects covering sensitive areas of?research.

Scholars from non-EU associated countries such as the UK, Switzerland and Israel are set to be excluded from some quantum computing and space projects to?protect the bloc¡¯s ¡°strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or?security¡±.

And there have been suggestions that the list of EU-only areas could be widened further, with a strategic plan for the seven-year programme indicating that Brussels wanted to?protect its ¡°sovereignty¡± over ¡°strategic technology areas¡±, security and ¡°critical infrastructures¡±.

But a statement from groups representing 77?research-intensive universities says associated countries should be able to?participate in Horizon Europe on the same basis as member states, ¡°after an agreement was reached in good faith¡±.

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¡°The role of scientists and researchers in the fight back against the pandemic underlines the benefits of cross-border collaboration, and Horizon Europe will provide the framework for many more successful collaborations,¡± the statement says.

¡°Researchers based in all our universities are now ready to seize these opportunities, work together, and submit bids with confidence.¡±

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The statement was signed by the League of European Universities (Leru), the Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities, the UK¡¯s Russell Group, Germany¡¯s U15 and France¡¯s Udice.

Kurt Deketelaere, Leru¡¯s secretary general, said countries such as the UK and Switzerland ¡°have been part of the European Research Area for a long time¡±.

¡°Losing them as close collaborators would be a huge loss. An overly protective ¡®EU-first¡¯ approach could hamper groundbreaking research and innovation, which is indispensable for improving the daily well-being of European citizens,¡± Professor Deketelaere said.

³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ previously reported that about 5?per cent of Horizon Europe projects would exclude researchers from some non-EU countries from certain calls, according to an informal estimate.

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A European Commission spokeswoman said discussions on Horizon Europe regulations were ¡°still?ongoing¡±.

¡°Any limitation will always be done in agreement with member states¡­and respecting our commitments under bilateral agreements,¡± she said. ¡°They will be exceptional, kept to the absolutely necessary minimum, and be duly justified.¡±

chris.havergal@timeshighereducation.com