The United Kingdom has formally left the EU, but many issues are still up in the air. After a three-and-a-half year rollercoaster ride, British researchers are now waiting for definitive answers to how the collaboration with the EU countries will work in the future. But Brexit has already affected the conditions for research in the country.

The Nordic countries have very similar attitudes and conditions when it comes to basic research. In international comparison, Denmark does best. “I think that people in Sweden, Norway and Finland are more tolerant towards mediocre research than Denmark is,” says Gunnar Öquist, who has evaluated Nordic research in various contexts.

“Undirected basic research is society’s investment in addressing future unknowns.” So says Lars Kloo, professor of applied physical chemistry. Curie has talked to three researchers about why basic researchers need more time and freedom.

The Netherlands tops the lists for several ways of measuring research success. According to Ingrid van Engelshoven, the Minister for Education, Culture and Research, the primary success factor is openness. Last week, she took part in Forskningspolitiska dagen (Research Policy Day), which was arranged by the Swedish Research Council.

The Swedish Research Council is forced to make major savings within national research infrastructure. The most important reason is the poor exchange rate of the Swedish krona, which causes increased costs for international infrastructure. But the cost increase is also because Swedish researchers have been successful, and have been awarded more time at several international facilities.

At a time when nearly all doors in academia were closed to women, a few still managed to make their way through. Paradoxically, several of the earliest women to have a research career in Sweden can be found within fields that are now the most male-dominated.