MSCA RESERVE LIST 2021

[emancipatedcity]

Hi guys
Anyone has any new info/good news to share? Sharing is caring

Hey! Thanks for writing. I was about to ask the same thing. I think a lot depends, when it comes to the UK association thing, on what will happen in the Northern Ireland elections that will take place in two weeks from now. So far, EU and UK don't seem to be any closer to an agreement on the NIP, and the signs from UK are that they won't be any time soon...
Here's the latest related news: https://www.ft.com/content/327c4909-fa6 ... 6eebe5849e

Or here, if you cannot access the whole article on ft.com:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... -rees-mogg

Thanks Trina. A tweet I came across while reading up the comments about the FT article: "Your periodic reminder of the unspoken reality: for every month spent rattling sabres on the Northern Ireland protocol, UK scientists are probably missing out on important global awards and projects as proper entry into Horizon Europe is blocked..."

[trina_80]

Hey! Thanks for writing. I was about to ask the same thing. I think a lot depends, when it comes to the UK association thing, on what will happen in the Northern Ireland elections that will take place in two weeks from now. So far, EU and UK don't seem to be any closer to an agreement on the NIP, and the signs from UK are that they won't be any time soon...
Here's the latest related news: https://www.ft.com/content/327c4909-fa6 ... 6eebe5849e

Or here, if you cannot access the whole article on ft.com:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... -rees-mogg

Thanks Trina. A tweet I came across while reading up the comments about the FT article: "Your periodic reminder of the unspoken reality: for every month spent rattling sabres on the Northern Ireland protocol, UK scientists are probably missing out on important global awards and projects as proper entry into Horizon Europe is blocked..."

Thanks for sharing that! The EU reps did say that they cannot finalize the association before some important political issues have been dealt with, so yes, it does seem that the Northern Ireland Protocol issue plays an important role in this. Speaking of which, this came out in the last hours: https://www.ft.com/content/58a94b1d-d1f ... 3b5bd2b050

"The UK government is preparing legislation that will give ministers sweeping powers to tear up the post-Brexit deal governing trade in Northern Ireland, risking a fresh confrontation with Brussels. Two people with knowledge of internal discussions said prime minister Boris Johnson and foreign secretary Liz Truss had in principle signed off on plans to put forward a Northern Ireland bill early in the next parliamentary session, which starts next month. [...] The move is expected to spark anger in Brussels and EU capitals. Last autumn the EU signaled it could suspend its post-Brexit trade deal with the UK if London reneged on its commitments under the protocol."

It's weird that we have to stay up to date with the politics to try and intuit whether we'll end up getting funded or not, but at least it keeps us busy, which, I guess, helps alleviate a bit the pain of waiting...

[trina_80]

Also, John Springford, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform in London, just tweeted this in response to the piece of news I just shared (https://www.ft.com/content/58a94b1d-d1f ... pe=nongift):
"Goodbye Horizon Europe if they pass the legislation (and ultimately the TCA if they use it). UK science is a victim of Johnson's Northern Ireland policy."

[emancipatedcity]

Also, John Springford, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform in London, just tweeted this in response to the piece of news I just shared (https://www.ft.com/content/58a94b1d-d1f ... pe=nongift):
"Goodbye Horizon Europe if they pass the legislation (and ultimately the TCA if they use it). UK science is a victim of Johnson's Northern Ireland policy."

Polls are bad for Johnson. So my guess is that he's trying to remanufacture consent through another "Brexit" row. We'll see!

[emancipatedcity]

This Guardian Editorial might be of interest: "This is the situation, perhaps no more than a dozen days off now, into which Mr Johnson’s government is apparently proposing to lob an explosive proposal to shred the Northern Ireland protocol that it signed in October 2019." https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... SApp_Other

[trina_80]

This Guardian Editorial might be of interest: "This is the situation, perhaps no more than a dozen days off now, into which Mr Johnson’s government is apparently proposing to lob an explosive proposal to shred the Northern Ireland protocol that it signed in October 2019." https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... SApp_Other

Hey, thank you for sharing! I also have one for you https://www.rte.ie/news/analysis-and-co ... ol-latest/ Among other things, it also explains EU's "muted response" to the stories that have come out lately:

The EU has been desperate to avoid getting dragged into the Northern Ireland assembly elections. There was a muted response to the Financial Times story by the Commission on Friday afternoon: a reminder that the UK was bound by its international obligations and that the problems of the Protocol could only be dealt with by "joint solutions".

I guess we'll have to keep an eye on the Northern Ireland assembly elections, on May 5th (something I never thought I'd ever hear myself say ) Well, I, for one, I'm glad that at least the elections in France are over.

[trina_80]

This Guardian Editorial might be of interest: "This is the situation, perhaps no more than a dozen days off now, into which Mr Johnson’s government is apparently proposing to lob an explosive proposal to shred the Northern Ireland protocol that it signed in October 2019." https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... SApp_Other

Hey, thank you for sharing! I also have one for you https://www.rte.ie/news/analysis-and-co ... ol-latest/ Among other things, it also explains EU's "muted response" to the stories that have come out lately:

The EU has been desperate to avoid getting dragged into the Northern Ireland assembly elections. There was a muted response to the Financial Times story by the Commission on Friday afternoon: a reminder that the UK was bound by its international obligations and that the problems of the Protocol could only be dealt with by "joint solutions".

I guess we'll have to keep an eye on the Northern Ireland assembly elections, on May 5th (something I never thought I'd ever hear myself say ) The good news is that that at least the elections in France are over.

[emancipatedcity]

This Guardian Editorial might be of interest: "This is the situation, perhaps no more than a dozen days off now, into which Mr Johnson’s government is apparently proposing to lob an explosive proposal to shred the Northern Ireland protocol that it signed in October 2019." https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... SApp_Other

Hey, thank you for sharing! I also have one for you https://www.rte.ie/news/analysis-and-co ... ol-latest/ Among other things, it also explains EU's "muted response" to the stories that have come out lately:

The EU has been desperate to avoid getting dragged into the Northern Ireland assembly elections. There was a muted response to the Financial Times story by the Commission on Friday afternoon: a reminder that the UK was bound by its international obligations and that the problems of the Protocol could only be dealt with by "joint solutions".

I guess we'll have to keep an eye on the Northern Ireland assembly elections, on May 5th (something I never thought I'd ever hear myself say ) The good news is that that at least the elections in France are over.

Thanks for sharing! By the way, this article just appeared in the Guardian. It seems that some UK based applicants are already turning down the ERC money: "Gammage was awarded €2m to expand research on mitochondrial genetics and mutations in tumours, but has decided to turn down the ERC grant and apply for replacement funding from the UK Research and Innovation fund. He said this was not the same as there was no detail about the terms and conditions of funding." https://www.theguardian.com/education/2 ... ng-from-eu

[trina_80]

Hey, thank you for sharing! I also have one for you https://www.rte.ie/news/analysis-and-co ... ol-latest/ Among other things, it also explains EU's "muted response" to the stories that have come out lately:

The EU has been desperate to avoid getting dragged into the Northern Ireland assembly elections. There was a muted response to the Financial Times story by the Commission on Friday afternoon: a reminder that the UK was bound by its international obligations and that the problems of the Protocol could only be dealt with by "joint solutions".

I guess we'll have to keep an eye on the Northern Ireland assembly elections, on May 5th (something I never thought I'd ever hear myself say ) The good news is that that at least the elections in France are over.

Thanks for sharing! By the way, this article just appeared in the Guardian. It seems that some UK based applicants are already turning down the ERC money: "Gammage was awarded €2m to expand research on mitochondrial genetics and mutations in tumours, but has decided to turn down the ERC grant and apply for replacement funding from the UK Research and Innovation fund. He said this was not the same as there was no detail about the terms and conditions of funding." https://www.theguardian.com/education/2 ... ng-from-eu

Thank you! Yes, the ERC fellows can already decide. As for the MSCA successful candidates with UK hosts, they said that they estimate that the signing of contracts with UKRI may begin after May 15. So I'm not sure what will happen once they do begin to sign the contracts, but I'm assuming they will automatically turn down the MSCA...

[melk]

It seems to be the case, indeed. This is explained in the UKRI guidance for the UK-based applicants.

https://www.ukri.org/wp-content/uploads ... arch22.pdf

15.What happens to my grant if the UK formally associates to Horizon Europe after the UKRI guarantee has been applied to my project?
UK participants who have received a UKRI grant under the guarantee will remain on the UKRI grant for the lifetime of the grant, subject to UKRI terms and conditions.

However, we don’t know if the application of the UKRI guarantee means singing the grant agreement or start making payments, it may be one year delay between these two steps.

Thank you! Yes, the ERC fellows can already decide. As for the MSCA successful candidates with UK hosts, they said that they estimate that the signing of contracts with UKRI may begin after May 15. So I'm not sure what will happen once they do begin to sign the contracts, but I'm assuming they will automatically turn down the MSCA...