Three of the ERC’s upcoming calls, the 2025 Starting Grant, the 2025 Consolidator Grant and the 2025 Synergy Grant, will allow for Swiss legal entities to be treated as “entities established in Associated Countries” during the proposal writing and submission process.
This transitional arrangement also applies to the 2024 ERC Advanced Grant call, which is scheduled to close on 29 August 2024.
However, successful Swiss-based applicants can only sign the grant agreements for the calls listed above if Switzerland is associated at that time.
Background
The European Commission has decided on the transitional arrangements for these ERC calls as a sign of goodwill given the currently ongoing negotiations on a broad variety of measures, including Swiss Association to Horizon Europe, between the EU and Switzerland.
The decision goes beyond what the Commission committed to in the Common Understanding, which sets the measures for modernising and developing bilateral relations between the EU and Switzerland.
In case of questions, UKRO recommends contacting the Swiss ERC National Contact Points directly.