Announcement

ESO and the United Kingdom

24 June 2016

The United Kingdom’s decision to leave the EU has no direct consequences for the UK’s membership of ESO. The UK has been a Member State of ESO since 2002 and will remain so should it leave the EU, without any immediate impact.

ESO is an intergovernmental astronomical research organisation that is independent of the European Union. A country’s membership of ESO is independent of its membership of the EU. ESO was established by international treaty between its Member States, which now number 15, not all of which are members of the EU.

The broader implications of the UK’s exit from the EU cannot be anticipated at present and the impact of this process on the European research landscape may take many years to become clear. In the meantime, ESO will be actively working with international stakeholders at all levels to promote excellent science in its Member States, in Europe, including the UK, and beyond.