Brexit has already irreparably damaged research

Total chaos. Disaster. A national act of self harm. All of these terms have been used by leading scientists to describe the state of UK projects to leave the European Union. Scientists are rarely so sharp. But their comments only reflect a fraction of the fury and frustration that many people feel about the mismanagement of the Brexit process by British politicians and their cavalier game of brown relations with the future of the country. As Nature goes to press, a Brexit without agreement is scheduled for April 12, unless parliamentarians can convince the EU to grant an extension.

A Brexit without agreement could be catastrophic for research. On March 28, British scientists again won most of the European Research Council's prestigious advanced grants, with more than 21% of grants and 112 million euros (126 million USD) of grants. total. An exit without agreement would instantly separate the UK from the system. Daily research would suffer because supplies, clinical trials, data collection and travel are disrupted.

Under almost all forms of Brexit, science will be weakened or the influence of the United Kingdom diminished. The UK's access to EU research funding systems is far from guaranteed and additional obstacles to immigration seem inevitable. The prolonged anxiety and prolonged uncertainty as well as the hostile atmosphere that some researchers abroad claim to be facing already affect recruitment and harmful collaborations. In the end, the youngest researchers will suffer the most from reduced opportunities.

The British government has tried to mitigate the shock: it has agreed to replace existing European subsidies and those obtained before 2021, and is currently consulting on how it could create alternative national financing schemes. But money alone will not stop the UK's scientific eminence from escaping – it's already happening. The country's strong position in research is based on its reputation, openness, collaboration and ability to attract the world's best scientists, something that Brexit will undermine. More generally, UK communities remain polarized and vital issues such as health, education and social well-being are neglected.

Before the 2016 referendum, Nature – as the vast majority of scientists – said that staying in the European Union was better for science, that cooperation between EU Member States had helped Europe to become an engine of research and that the disruption of this situation was wrong. We always maintain this point of view.

The political situation is changing so rapidly that even the most seasoned political badyst can not predict what will happen next. In the midst of chaos, researchers can be clever observers, clear thinkers, serene investigators and rational speakers. They should continue to use these qualities, not only to oppose Brexit in a form that harms science, but to look beyond and repair the harm done to research, relationships and communities.