Member of European Parliament (MEP) Andrew Duff (pictured) has argued that Britain leaving the EU would be a disaster for science across the continent.
Making his remarks in a recent interview with news provider Science Business, the Liberal Democrat MEP said that the argument shouldn’t just be about trade and money, but also science and innovation.
Representing the East of England, into which the University of Cambridge falls, the MEP highlighted the innovation spearheaded by Europe’s largest tech cluster, and noted estimates that 20% of work undertaken by Cambridge’s researchers is supported by EU grants. An example of this is the EU’s Framework Programme 7, in which the UK will have received €7.5bn ($9.91bn) over the course of six years to support British science.
He also said it would be a major loss for Europe, as it would lose the UK’s knowledge exchange from its strong science base and its expertise in tech transfer and commercialisation.
