The opinion of the Max Planck Institute directors is clear: a Brexit would seriously harm European sciences—especially if it is a no-deal Brexit. In a letter to UK and EU negotiators and to some members of the European Parliament last summer, 153 directors pointed out the importance of concluding an association agreement, “so that researchers can move as freely as possible between the UK and the EU.” The European Union needs more scientific cooperation to meet the challenges of our time, such as climate change, infectious and other diseases, antibiotic resistance and the consequences of an aging society. This requires close cooperation in order to keep ­European top research internationally competitive: “That is in the interest of our research, of European science, and thus ultimately of society at large.”

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