As the consultation on the EU’s biggest ever research programme closes today, Science|Business takes a look at the feedback on how Horizon Europe can be improved - and the extent to which this will shape its successor 

Having missed out on the first two years, the government says it will not be paying in the full £6.9B put aside to join the research programme. And with association still to be agreed, plans for alternatives are promised soon  

£1.6B for the UK to join the EU research programme or set up a Plan B, has been withdrawn, according to a leading lobby group

It’s been a long time coming, with MEPs having voted it through in December 2012. But advocates say the unitary patent remains relevant and will be a boon for the European economy

Mirroring a change in sentiment across the EU, Germany’s ‘future strategy’ demands more reciprocity from Beijing on access to research data. A separate China strategy, currently debated in government, could also shift German policy

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared a ‘Zeitenwende’, shifting Germany policy towards a new, wary realism. Research policy has only begun to catch up, says Ruppert Stüwe, German Social Democratic Party MP

With signs a deal is being agreed on the Northern Ireland Protocol, association could be near. But having been shut out of Horizon Europe for two years, the UK hopes to renegotiate financial terms, and wants talks to start now

The move mirrors similar strategies announced by the US and governments in Europe since Russia invaded Ukraine

The Commission’s former regional development chief moves over to head the research directorate, amid hopes his experience in Cohesion policy will be applied to bridge east-west disparities in research and innovation