AI Insight
Following Brexit's disruption to European scientific collaboration, the United Kingdom is experiencing a recovery in its participation in EU research funding programs. While the UK's financial share of EU research grants is increasing and approaching pre-Brexit levels, the article indicates that the collaborative networks and partnerships between UK and European researchers that were severed during the separation period remain difficult to reconstruct.
Why it matters
The recovery of UK-EU scientific collaboration affects the productivity and scope of research on both sides, particularly for large-scale projects requiring international cooperation. The challenges in rebuilding research networks highlight how political decisions can create lasting structural damage to scientific communities even after formal funding relationships are restored.
Nature, Published online: 18 June 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01841-w
The UK’s share of EU research funding is climbing, but lost networks will be harder to recover.
Source: Brexit tore apart European science — now the research rifts are healing