Brexit briefing - December 2017

18 December 2017

On 8 December 2017 it was announced that “sufficient progress” has been made in the Brexit talks to move on to discussions of a future trade relationship.

On 15 December the European Council officially adopted guidelines confirming this.

Although there is the usual caveat that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”, we recognise and welcome progress that has been made in a number of areas which are important for higher education, including:

• Confirmation of the rights of EU citizens who have exercised free movement before the cut-off date, which will be the date of withdrawal.
• The financial settlement approach states that “the UK will continue to participate in EU programmes financed by the MFF 2014-2020 until their closure”, meaning UK will be eligible for participation in Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+ to the end of the programmes.
• Commitment to continued north-south cooperation in Ireland and upholding the Good Friday agreement.

Now that the talks can move on to the future relationship, we are urging the Government to ensure we can establish a deep and lasting relationship between the UK and the EU on science that builds on our existing research and innovation links.

Find out more in our latest Brexit briefing.

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