European Union scientists may be able to stay in the UK following the UK's departure from the union, Science reports.
The UK and the EU have been negotiating the terms of Brexit, and one concern has been the fate of EU scientists working in the UK. Last year, the New York Times reported that tens of thousands of researchers working at UK universities come from EU member states.
Science says that the UK and EU have now hammered out an agreement under which EU researchers can remain in the UK after Brexit, and that the European Council is expected to approve the agreement this week.
"For researchers, today's deal offers much needed hope," Jeremy Farrar, the director of the Wellcome Trust, says in a statement. "Certainty over their right, and their family's right, to live, work, or study under the same conditions as they do now will allow people to plan for their future."
The agreement also allows UK researchers to continue to participate in EU funding schemes through 2020, Science adds. "I hope that this will give UK-based researchers much needed clarity on their continued ability to participate in Horizon 2020 until it finishes," Robert Lechler, president of the Academy of Medical Sciences, says in a statement.