At 11 p.m. on 31 January, the United Kingdom will leave the European Union. Although an 11-month transition period means the milestone will bring few immediate changes for researchers, the day marks the start of negotiations over the country’s future relationship with the bloc, including the United Kingdom’s role in EU science.
The UK government’s list of things to do before 31 December 2020 is ambitious. Its priority will be to secure a trade deal with the EU, to avoid potential chaos from trade barriers erected on 1 January 2021. The government also hopes to create a skills-based immigration system that would end freedom of movement for EU citizens into and out of the United Kingdom, as well as potentially introduce a raft of regulations covering everything from agriculture to aviation.
With Brexit under way, one of the many tasks for negotiators will be sorting out the country’s part in the EU’s next seven-year research programme,
Horizon Europe, which will start on 1 January 2021. Any such agreement would normally come only after countries have agreed a trade deal.