Keep science out of Europe’s post-Brexit arguments
让科学置身于欧洲关于英国脱欧后的争论之外
A year ago, researchers from across Europe breathed sighs of relief when the United Kingdom and the European Union agreed the terms of their relationship after Brexit.
一年前，当英国和欧盟就英国脱欧后的关系条款达成一致时，欧洲各地的研究人员松了一口气。
Although a majority of UK researchers did not support their country’s exit from the EU, there was relief that they would still be permitted to participate in the EU’s €95.5-billion (US$107-billion) collaborative research programme, Horizon Europe, through a category of membership called association.
尽管大多数英国研究人员都不支持他们的国家退出欧盟，但令人欣慰的是，他们仍然可以通过一个名为协会的成员类别，参与欧盟价值955亿欧元（1070亿美元）的合作研究项目“欧洲地平线”（Horizon Europe）。
The UK government would pay the EU a total of around £15 billion (US$20.4 billion) over 7 years. In exchange, UK researchers would be able to apply for prestigious grants from the European Research Council (ERC), and participate in Horizon Europe collaborations, including taking leadership roles. The United Kingdom would no longer have the right to contribute to governance decisions,
but UK representatives could sit on committees as observers.
英国将在7年内向欧盟支付总计约150亿英镑（204亿美元）。作为交换，英国研究人员将能够申请欧洲研究委员会（European Research Council）有声望的资助，并参与欧洲地平线合作，包括担任领导角色。英国将不再有权参与管理决策，但英国代表可以作为观察员参加委员会。
That was then. A year later, it all seems very different. Some 46 researchers in the United Kingdom who have been selected for ERC grants are being prevented from accessing their funding because of an ongoing Brexit-linked dispute over trade and borders with Northern Ireland. Furthermore, Switzerland — which is not an EU member but has associated to EU science programmes in the past — has not had its association renewed. This is because of unresolved negotiations over the country’s wider relations with the EU.
这是当时的情况。一年后，一切似乎都大不相同。由于与英国脱欧有关的贸易以及与北爱尔兰边境的争端，英国约46名被选为欧洲研究委员会资助的研究人员无法获得资助。此外，瑞士——它不是欧盟成员国，但在过去曾与欧盟的科学项目有关联——与欧盟的科学项目关联也没有得到更新。这是因为瑞士与欧盟的更广泛关系尚未得到解决。
The EU says that these outstanding disagreements need to be fixed before UK and Swiss participation can resume. For now, a swift resolution is not looking likely.
欧盟表示，在英国和瑞士恢复参与之前，这些悬而未决的分歧需要得到解决。目前看来，迅速解决问题的可能性不大。
Frustrated researchers from across the continent have launched the Stick to Science campaign, with the subtitle: ‘Put science collaboration before politics’. So far, it has gathered around 4,000 signatures. “Every month’s delay weakens European science,” says Jan Palmowski, secretary-general of the Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities in Brussels.
来自欧洲的沮丧的研究人员发起了“坚持科学”运动，小标题为：“把科学合作置于政治之前”。到目前为止，这项运动已经收集了大约4000个签名。位于布鲁塞尔的欧洲研究密集型大学协会秘书长帕尔莫夫斯基（Jan Palmowski）说：“每个月的延误都会削弱欧洲的科学。”
UK science minister George Freeman is trying to reassure researchers that extra funds will be available for international collaborations if association to Horizon Europe doesn’t work out. But collaborative projects are about much more than money. Materials physicist Robin Grimes, a former science adviser to the UK foreign-affairs department, told this month’s parliamentary committee that Europe’s researchers have been able to make advances in their fields because of long-standing relationships, which often transcend a single funding cycle.
英国科学大臣弗里曼试图向研究人员保证，如果与欧洲地平线的合作不成功，将为国际合作提供额外的资助。但合作项目不仅仅是为了钱。英国外交部前科学顾问、材料物理学家格里姆斯（Robin Grimes）在本月的议会委员会上表示，欧洲研究人员之所以能够在各自的领域取得进展，是因为长期存在的关系，而这种关系往往超越了单一的资助周期。
It is true that, for decades, research has been one of the ways in which
Europe’s people have been able to work together. Relations between previous UK governments and the EU hit rocky periods long before Brexit, but governments on all sides agreed that, regardless of the state of wider relations, science links needed to remain an important priority. Joint European funding schemes (previously known as the Framework programmes) have been part of the EU and its predecessor bodies since at least the 1980s.
的确，几十年来，研究一直是欧洲人民能够合作的方式之一。早在英国脱欧之前，英国历届与欧盟之间的关系就陷入了困境，但各方一致认为，无论更广泛的关系处于何种状态，科系都需要保持重要的优先地位。至少自20世纪80年代以来，欧洲联合资助计划（以前被称为框架计划）一直是欧盟及其前身机构的一部分。
More than a year ago, Nature warned about a creeping anti-research narrative across all of Europe; now, divisions between nations are spilling over into science. EU officials, together with their counterparts from Switzerland and the United Kingdom, should reflect on the implications of what they are doing. Both Switzerland and the United Kingdom should be allowed to associate to EU funding schemes, regardless of ongoing political disagreements. Dragging research and scholarship into international disputes helps no one.
一年多前，《自然》杂志警告说，在整个欧洲，反研究的论调正在蔓延；现在，国家之间的分歧正在蔓延到科学领域。欧盟，以及瑞士和英国的，应该反思他们正在做的事情的影响。无论目前的政治分歧如何，瑞士和英国都应该被允许参加欧盟的资助计划。把研究和学术拖入国际争端无助于任何一方。
