Association with "Horizon Europe": News on the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Canada

From 1 January 2024, the United Kingdom will participate in the EU research and innovation programme "Horizon Europe" and the EU Earth observation programme "Copernicus" under the same conditions as its partners in the EU Member States. The EU and Canada are currently finalising their negotiations on association with Horizon Europe. The association agreement is expected to be signed in 2024. The EU has also declared its willingness to enter into talks on Switzerland's association with Horizon Europe.

On 22 November 2023, Research Commissioner Iliana Ivanova confirmed in a post on social media that the European Commission is ready to start talks on Switzerland's association with the EU research and innovation programme. The announcement came a day after a message from Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič welcoming the Commission's support for the joint agreement with Switzerland, which was reached after 18 months of exploratory talks. He added that this will provide the framework for the negotiation of a comprehensive package between the EU and Switzerland.

On Canada

At the Canada-EU Summit on 23 and 24 November 2023, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, today announced the conclusion of negotiations on Canada's association with Pillar II of Horizon Europe, the EU's main funding programme for research and innovation. This marks an important milestone in our commitment to promote mutual cooperation in research and innovation.

The signing of the association agreement is expected to take place in 2024, depending on the completion of all necessary validation steps on both sides. Once signed, researchers and organisations in Canada will be able to access funding under Pillar II of Horizon Europe. Pillar II concerns the largest collaborative part of the programme, which focuses primarily on common global challenges such as climate, energy, digital economy and health and has a budget of EUR 53.5 billion.
Further information can be found here.

About the United Kingdom

Thanks to the decision of the European Council on 15 November 2023, scientists and organisations in the UK will be able to participate in the EU research and innovation programme "Horizon Europe" and the EU Earth observation programme "Copernicus" from 1 January 2024 under the same conditions as their partners in the EU Member States.
Following a political agreement on 7 September 2023, the European Council decision on 15 November 2023 now enables the United Kingdom (UK) to participate in the EU's Horizon Europe and Copernicus programmes.

Under the agreement in principle, researchers and organisations in the UK will be able to participate in the EU's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme on the same terms as their partners in EU Member States from 1 January 2024.

The UK will also participate in the EU's Copernicus Earth observation programme and have access to the EU's Space Surveillance and Tracking services. The UK's participation will be subject to all the safeguards of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, including the payment of a participation fee to the EU budget.
Further information can be found here.