On Sunday in Brussels, representatives of the European Commission and the Government of New Zealand signed an agreement, which officially associates the country to Pillar 2 of Horizon Europe.
This allows organisations from New Zealand to participate as beneficiaries receiving EU funding (full consortium members) in projects funded under the six thematic Clusters of Horizon Europe’s second Pillar. This is the largest collaborative part of the programme, which is primarily focused on finding solutions to shared global challenges in climate, energy, mobility, health, and more. Researchers and innovators from New Zealand will now be able to collaborate in the relevant parts of the programme on equal terms with entities from the other participating countries and will have access to Horizon Europe funding and networks of researchers in Europe and beyond.
In practical terms, this means that, as previously reported by UKRO, participants from New Zealand can be included as beneficiaries requesting EU funding in all applications submitted to the relevant calls for proposals under the six Clusters of Horizon Europe. Their requested EU contribution should be included in the budget table in part A of the application form and their project activities clearly described in the technical annex (part B).
This is the first time that a highly industrialised country outside of Europe has become associated to the EU framework programme for research and innovation and the agreement opens up a new chapter in the history of these programmes, paving the way for other non-European countries to become associated to Horizon Europe in the future.
Update on the association of other non-European countries
The United Kingdom will be associated to Horizon Europe by means of a Protocol to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, with further information on UK participation in the programme available in UKRO’s dedicated factsheet.
Association negotiations with Morocco continue. Once ratified, the agreement with Morocco will be applicable for the entire programme.
Formal negotiations to join Horizon Europe are currently ongoing with Canada and South Korea, while Japan continues to have technical discussions with the EU. These countries are expected to become associated to Pillar 2 of Horizon Europe during 2023.
Further information about international cooperation and the association policy of Horizon Europe is available in UKRO’s dedicated factsheet (link in the “Related content” section).