Through the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and the UK , all aspects of UK association to Horizon Europe were agreed on 24th December 2020 in the TCA and documents attached to the Agreement. Association will enter into force through the formal adoption of a Protocol that is already agreed in principle, after the Horizon Europe Regulation has been adopted.
Yes. UK entities including universities, research centres, scientists, innovative businesses, industry, etc. will have full rights to participate in the first calls for proposals of Horizon Europe as soon as they are published on the European Commission’s website.
This is also true for calls which may be published before the adoption of the Horizon Europe Regulation, such as early COVID-19 calls or those of the European Research Council (ERC) and the European Innovation Council (EIC), apart from the EIC Fund.
The UK is associating to the full Horizon Europe programme with the only exception of the EIC Fund (which is the loan/equity instrument of the EIC, see below). The scope of association includes the European Research Council (ERC), the Marie Curie-Skłodowska Actions, the six ‘Global Challenges’ clusters and Missions, the partnerships, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology.
The UK will also be associated to the Euratom Research and Training Programme, as well as fusion-related activities carried out under the European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy (F4E), the ITER Agreement, and the Broader Approach Agreement. The UK will not participate in the European Defence Fund, which has a different legal basis and is not covered by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
Thanks to the Associated Country status, UK participants will have the same rights as EU participants, with the very limited aforementioned exceptions. UK entities are eligible for funding at the same rates and under the same conditions. They can lead project consortia. They also count towards the minimum number of countries in calls for transnational projects.
The UK’s financial contribution will consist of:
Correction mechanisms will apply if significant imbalances appear between the UK’s operational contribution and what it receives from the programme.
Sixteen countries were associated to Horizon 2020. Similarly, Horizon Europe will be open to the association of:
The Commission is currently engaged in active exploratory talks with a view to (re)association with six Western Balkan countries, Turkey, Israel, Tunisia, Morocco, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and the Faroe Islands. Moreover, the process to formalise (re)association with Norway and Iceland is being carried out in accordance with the provisions of the EEA Agreement.
The Commission expects most (if not all) of these countries to be associated from the start of Horizon Europe, alongside the UK, while others may join later in the Programme’s life cycle. In addition, Horizon Europe will also be open to the association of other third countries and territories located anywhere in the world and that share the EU’s fundamental values, as well as have a good capacity in science, technology and innovation, in line with the requirements of Article [12] (1)(d) of the Horizon Europe Regulation.
More information on informal exploratory talks on association to Horizon Europe are also published on this website and regularly updated.
Draft of Horizon Europe regulation
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