EU Science and Research Commissioner Carlos Moedas has urged UK grantees worried by uncertainties over Brexit to “keep collaborating”.

As uncertainty over the terms of Britain’s exit from the European Union grew, official statements from Brussels and Westminster tried to reassure participants in the EU’s Horizon 2020 research programme that current projects won’t be interrupted.

Moedas told UK researchers: “While you remain part of the European Union, the Horizon 2020 programme is fully open to you. Please keep taking part. Keep collaborating with your European partners. Keep welcoming researchers from other EU countries into your universities and research teams.”

He added that UK opinions are also welcome on what the new EU research programme should look like, even though its proposed start would be two years after the planned Brexit date.

The British Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy also issued a statement reiterating that the UK has pledged to pay British grantees directly after March 2019, so that their projects don’t get interrupted by Brexit.

Previously, news from the official Brexit talks was discouraging, with the latest round of negotations seeing the two sides reach a “deadlock”, according to the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier.

Statements in the past week have unsettled some Horizon 2020 grantees, including several UK universities reportedly dropped from prospective bidding groups since the referendum.

The issues revolve around the fine print inside the Horizon 2020 grant agreements, which stipulated that eligibility criteria “must be complied with for the entire duration of the grant”.

Researchers in the 27 other member states want to see the UK continue to participate in EU research projects.

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