French plot to exclude UK from research project is foiled by allies
A French plot to exclude the UK from participating in a research programme in quantum has been foiled by other EU member states.
The European Commission reportedly wanted a blanket ban on the UK’s participation in certain parts of the €100bn Horizon Europe funding programme deemed especially sensitive.
The Horizon Scheme is a research project that partners with companies and universities, and part of its role is to boost the EU’s competitiveness and growth.
The UK negotiated its membership in last year’s Brexit talks.
Despite the UK’s membership, Brussels was concerned that the UK would pass on trade secrets to non-EU powers.
Last week however EU governments made it clear that any ban could only be imposed by qualified majority vote, rather than by a unilateral commission decision.
The governments also ruled out any blanket ban on companies from non-EU countries, including Israel and Switzerland.
Additionally, member states introduced amendments so that decisions to outright ban any country from a project could be made on a case-by-case basis and on criteria set by national governments, rather than by Brussels.
French commissioner Thierry Breton spearheaded the plan to exclude the UK, however other EU countries including Germany, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Ireland, Poland, the Netherlands and the Baltic States were against the proposal.
One EU diplomat told the Telegraph: “You can’t just put the UK in the same box as Iran or China.”