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Originally Posted by OLD BOY
I’m not at all embarrassed, standing up to these ‘great powers’ that are trying to dictate to us and bring us down.
The amendments we are seeking are simply minor adjustments that will make a big difference without undermining the objectives of the protocol. No international laws are under threat.
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It's not a great look however you dress it up. There is a mechanism to resolve such issues; Johnson is just pandering to one political party and the whole of the UK is suffering for it. Let's not forget that 60% of the Northern Ireland electorate voted for parties that want to maintain the Northern Ireland Protocol as is and businesses there quite enjoy the benefits of having a foot in the EU market.
When I said the whole of the UK is suffering for it, I am referencing the dispute's very negative impact on the UK's science sector as we are being excluded from the world's biggest research programme.
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EU blocks UK scientists from €95bn Horizon research programme
Brussels ambassador to London warns row over post-Brexit trade in Northern Ireland is affecting other areas
The EU is blocking British scientists from joining the €95bn Horizon Europe research programme — the world’s biggest — because of the row over post-Brexit trade in Northern Ireland.
The stand-off has alarmed the UK’s university leaders, who have written to British prime minister Boris Johnson pleading with him “to make a personal intervention to break the deadlock” before it is too late. In a letter, seen by the Financial Times, the Russell Group, representing 24 of the UK’s most research-intensive universities, said participation in Horizon was vital in achieving Johnson’s goal of making Britain “a science superpower”. The letter from Tim Bradshaw, chief executive, said Russell Group universities alone had won more than 1,400 European Research Council grants worth €1.8bn, which he said was “more than the whole of France”…
But the Russell Group warned Johnson that the UK being granted associate membership of Horizon was “an integral part” of the country becoming a force in science. It called the programme “the Champions League for research”.’
Separately, Bradshaw wrote to Maroš Šefčovič, EU commissioner in charge of discussions with Britain over the Northern Ireland protocol, to ask him to intervene. “The UK’s full association to Horizon is at risk,” he said.
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https://www.ft.com/content/96524f4a-...2-9ae641205e96