退欧将危及英国科学大国地位 Want to know what Brexit would mean

Anyone who wants to know whether we should leave the EU should speak to Boris. I mean, of course, the vice-chancellor of the University of Cambridge, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz.

任何想知道我们应不应该退出欧盟的人都应该跟鲍里斯(Boris)谈谈。当然，我说的这位鲍里斯（本文作者的哥哥是支持英国退出欧洲的伦敦市长鲍里斯•约翰逊——译者注）是剑桥大学(University of Cambridge)校长、教授莱谢克•博里塞维奇爵士(Sir Leszek Borysiewicz)。

This city by the Fens has been a centre of scholarship for more than eight centuries, long before the EU and many of its member states even existed. Monks and scholars flocked here from Paris, Bologna and Salamanca in the Middle Ages and, over the years, our own benefited from reciprocal hospitality across Europe.

八个多世纪以来，剑桥这座位于大沼泽旁的城市一直是学术成就的中心——那时欧盟及其许多成员国根本不存在。中世纪时期，大批修道士、学者从巴黎、博洛尼亚和萨拉曼卡涌到这里，在此后的几百年里，我国的修道士和学者在欧洲各地也得到礼遇。

Today these continental networks are deeper than ever and help explain why this university has more Nobel Prizes to its name — 92 — than any other institution. They also play a part in its success in turning research into good business. With more than 1,500 technology companies, employing nearly 60,000 people, it is the most successful innovation cluster in Europe.

如今，这些遍布欧洲大陆的网络比以往任何时候都更加深入，而且有助于解释为什么剑桥大学孕育的诺贝尔奖得主（92位）比其他任何机构都多。在将研究成果转化为优秀业务方面，这些网络也发挥了作用。拥有1500多家科技公司，雇佣近6万人，剑桥已成为欧洲最成功的创新聚集地。

The big question, then, for Boris is how much of this success is due to our membership of the EU? Let us be clear: Britain has been a science superpower since the dawn of the Enlightenment and our scientific temper will help us thrive either way.

那么，对剑桥校长而言，大问题在于这种成功在多大程度上应归功于英国的欧盟成员身份？让我们明确这一点：英国自启蒙运动开始以来一直是一个科技超级大国，我们的科学素养将帮助我国不断结出科学的硕果，无论我们留在还是退出欧盟。

The issue, though, is whether we would be as strong as we could be, without the funding and the partnerships that we gain through the EU.

然而，问题在于，若失去通过欧盟获得的资助及合作伙伴关系，我们还能不能保持强大，把我们的优势发挥到极致？

European research funding offers a good example of how the EU can get things right — and of how the UK benefits from a seat at the table when the rules are framed in Brussels. We have successfully argued for EU research money only to flow to where the best science is done, regardless of geography or pork barrel pressures. And because of the excellence of our research base, we end up winning an outsized slice of EU research programmes.

欧洲研究经费提供了一个很好的例子，说明欧盟能够正确安排事情，说明当布鲁塞尔框定规则时，在谈判桌前拥有一席之地让英国受益。我们已经成功地说服让欧盟研究经费只流向科研工作做得最好的地方，而不考虑地理或“笼络民心的政治拨款”压力。而因为我们的研究基地非常优秀，我们赢得了超出比例的欧盟研究项目。

The UK puts in about 12 per cent of all EU funding yet wins about 15 per cent of research funding, making us one of the largest beneficiaries of EU science programmes. In the latest funding round, we have to date secured 15.4 per cent, second only to Germany.

英国贡献欧盟全部经费的约12%，但赢得约15%的研究经费，这使英国成为欧盟科技项目的最大受益者之一。在最近的一轮经费划拨中，英国迄今已争取到15.4%，仅次于德国。

Britain’s universities flourish under this system. Cambridge topped the list of EU universities for participations in the most recent funding programme. And Oxford, Imperial College London and University College London occupied the next three positions. Some argue non-EU countries also benefit from EU science. But there is a big difference. They may be part of the European Research Area but they do not sit at the table when the European Council or Parliament set rules or decide budgets.

英国的大学在这一体系下蓬勃发展。在最近的经费分配中，剑桥大学在欧盟所有大学中获得的资金最多。紧随其后的是牛津大学(Oxford)、伦敦大学帝国理工学院(Imperial College London)以及伦敦大学学院(UCL)。有人辩称，非欧盟国家也受益于欧盟的科研。但这里有很大的区别。他们或许是欧洲研究区(ERA)的一部分，但当欧洲理事会或欧洲议会制定规则或决定预算时，他们毫无话语权。

Of course, British scientists will be able to call for support from the UK government. Indeed, since 2010 we have protected the science budget at a time of significant savings elsewhere, but we should not pretend that replacing these rich additional European funding streams would be easy.

当然，英国科学家有能力从英国政府争取到支持。的确，自2010年以来，在其他方面开支大幅削减之际，我们保住了科研预算，但我们不该自欺欺人地认为，替代欧盟的大笔额外经费将是容易的。

To keep our knowledge factories winning Nobel Prizes, we must in addition recognise that research is rarely a solitary undertaking or even a narrowly national one. About half of UK research publications now involve cross-border collaborations. And EU countries are among our most crucial partners, representing nearly half of our overseas collaborations. Free movement of people makes it easier for our universities to attract the best talent.

要继续让我们的“知识工厂”获得诺贝尔奖，我们还必须认识到，科研极少是一项孤立的事业，甚至很少是仅仅一个国家就能开展的。如今，英国约一半的研究成果都涉及跨境合作。而欧盟国家是英国最重要的合作伙伴，占到英国海外合作的近一半。人员自由流动让英国大学更易于吸引到最优秀的人才。

I am not suggesting that Brexit would reverse eight centuries of progress, returning “Silicon Fen” to marshland. However, those who want Britain to leave the EU must explain how they will sustain the same levels of investment and the same depth of partnership under different circumstances.

我并不是在暗示退出欧盟将使英国八个世纪以来取得的进步付诸东流，把“硅沼”(Silicon Fen)变回沼泽。然而，那些希望英国退出欧盟的人士必须解释，在不同的环境下，他们将如何维持相同的投资水平以及同等深度的合作伙伴关系？

A vote to leave would be a leap into the dark that would put our status as a science superpower at risk. That is why I will be joining Boris in making a positive case for Britain’s future in a reformed EU.

赞成退欧的公投结果将使英国跃入黑暗，进而危及英国的科学超级大国地位。这就是为什么我将加入剑桥校长的行列，为英国在改革后的欧盟中的未来提出正面的理由。