Specialised Committee on Participation in Union Programmes Minutes: 22 September 2022
Published 1 December 2023
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Specialised Committee on Participation in Union Programmes Minutes: 22 September 2022
15:00-16:30 CET in Brussels (and videoconference)
Introduction and Welcome
The EU, as host, welcomed the United Kingdom (UK) and EU attendees in Brussels and online to the second meeting of the Specialised Committee on Participation in Union Programmes (SCPUP), under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), following the UK’s request of 16 August 2022 for consultations under Article 738 TCA.
Article 738 TCA provides that following a request, consultations should take place within 30 days of that request, i.e., by 15 September 2022, but this was postponed by a week by mutual agreement due to exceptional circumstances. This SCPUP meeting represented a consultation meeting under Article 738 TCA, which provides that consultations, and in particular all information designated as confidential and positions taken by the Parties during consultations, shall be confidential, and shall be without prejudice to the rights of either Party in any further proceedings.
The Specialised Committee adopted the provisional agenda as previously agreed between the Co-Chairs.
UK Association to Union Programmes – consultation request by the UK pursuant to Art. 738 TCA
UK intervention
The UK outlined its firm intention to associate to the relevant EU programmes in accordance with the TCA, for the present EU Multiannual Financial Framework and a timeline of its repeated efforts to do so. The UK’s efforts included raising the issue at the Partnership Council in June 2021, multiple requests for a meeting of the SCPUP to adopt the Protocols over the course of 2021 and engagement throughout 2022.
The UK outlined its view that the terms of the TCA and the Joint Declaration were clear that UK participation would be finalised at the earliest opportunity so that the UK would have access from the start of the Programmes. The UK did not see any legal impediment to prevent the EU from adopting the Protocols.
The UK challenged the link that the EU had made between the Northern Ireland Protocol and the UK’s association to EU Programmes. The UK set out that in its view there was no legal base to make a link between the two issues, which are contained in two separate Agreements.
The UK proceeded to set out its legal arguments supporting its view that the EU is in breach of the TCA, focusing on its legal interpretation that association is a clear obligation and should have taken place already in 2021. According to the UK this was based on the textual, contextual, and purposive analysis of the TCA, its Annexes and its draft Protocols, and the design of the programmes and underpinning EU legislation. The UK recalled its understanding, based on its reading of the Joint Declaration, that the only impediment to adopting the Protocols when the TCA was signed was the EU Multiannual Financial Framework which had not been finalised, and the underlying EU legislation. These were both completed in 2021. The UK outlined its perception of the EU’s consistent delays in meeting and discussing this issue.
The UK noted that the transitional arrangements do not exist for UK participation in Copernicus or F4E and where they do exist for the Euratom R&T programme the UK’s view is that they are extremely limited, and that for Horizon Europe the UK’s view is that they are ineffective. The UK provided examples of what it considers to be the negative impact the delay was having on UK and EU research communities and on scientific cooperation. The UK made clear its view that any payment on association would be quantified based on the actual period of association.
The UK also made clear that time was running out for the Protocols to be adopted and reiterated that if the EU continued to refuse to adopt the Protocols the UK may be forced to launch its own alternative measures imminently. The UK has been clear it must consider the right course of action to support scientific cooperation.
EU reaction
The EU responded that it continued to recognise the mutual benefit of cooperation in science, research and innovation, and expressed its regret that the UK had initiated consultation proceedings. The EU recalled the political situation, citing the difficulties the EU had identified in the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) and reiterated its hope for a swift resolution of those difficulties to enable the establishment of the association to EU programmes. The EU rebutted the UK’s view that the EU is in breach of the TCA by underlining the EU’s view that the TCA does not provide a binding timeframe to adopt the Protocols.
Follow up questions and discussion
After a short recess, the parties resumed the meeting, with a number of technical follow up questions on the side of the UK, including: the EU rationale for not proceeding with the UK’s association, the limited functioning of transitional measures and the impact these were having on the sector. The EU recalled its view that the transitional arrangements cannot cover all programmes (F4E, Copernicus) and acknowledged that they are not meant to be equivalent or a substitution for association.
Closing Remarks
The UK expressed its regret that the EU did not expand on the justification in law of why the UK’s association is not established, adding that the EU fails to recognise the serious concerns of ongoing harm to scientific collaboration. The UK delegation will report back to Ministers and noted that it may have no choice but to put in place alternative arrangements to support the stability of the scientific sector if the current impasse is not addressed urgently.
The EU reasserted its position that it has not breached the provisions of the TCA or any other international agreement with the UK, adding that, in their view, the EU has acted in full compliance with the TCA. The EU also reiterated that it looks forward to the prompt resolution of the difficulties the EU had identified in the implementation of the WA.
The consultations were closed by both the UK and the EU Co-Chairs, thanking participants for attending and teams on both sides for the preparatory work undertaken.
Annex 1 – Participants of the Second Meeting of the Specialised Committee on Participation in Union Programmes (SCPUP)
EU Delegation (44)
- EU Co-Chair of the SCPUP
- European Commission Officials (BUDG, SG, LS, RTD, DEFIS, ENER)
- European External Action Service Officials
- Delegation of the European Union to the UK Officials
- Representatives of EU Member States
UK Delegation (35)
- UK Co-Chair of the SCPUP
- UK Government Officials (HMT, BEIS, Defra and FCDO)
- UK Mission to the European Union Officials
- Scottish Government Officials
- Northern Ireland Executive Officials
- Welsh Government Officials