Countries associated to Horizon Europe
Association to Horizon Europe is the closest form of cooperation with non-EU countries, which allows entities of associated countries to participate in programme actions on equal terms with entities of EU countries. It is covered in Article 16 of the Horizon Europe Regulation.
It is offered not only to EU neighbouring countries, but also to any country in the world with a strong research and innovation capacity that share common values.
There are four categories of countries eligible for association with the programme
- Members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) which are members of the European Economic Area (EEA)
- Acceding countries, candidate countries and potential candidates
- European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) countries
- Other third countries and territories that fulfil a set of criteria related to their economic, political and research and innovation systems
Association agreements
Horizon Europe is the most open and by far the largest research and innovation programme globally. Association of non-EU countries to the programme is one of the key vehicles to ensure this openness.
Associated membership is the closest form of cooperation in research and innovation for non-EU countries, by providing, as far as possible, the same rights and obligations to these countries’ research and innovation entities as those accorded to entities of EU Member States. It makes it easier to work on and fund joint projects.
This framework also expands the horizons for national researchers and entities to collaborate with the EU’s and other participants from the Associated Countries, in a broad range of calls. The associated country provides a financial contribution based on an international agreement with the EU.
Regularly updated progress on association talks
Progress towards association to Horizon Europe