Horizon Europe (officially named “the EU Research & Innovation Programme 2021-2027 for a Green, Healthy, Digital and Inclusive Europe”) is the world’s largest R&D support programme. It is budgeted at € 95.5 billion for the 7 years 2021-2027. Apart from the 27 European Union member states, there are 18 additional countries that can participate in Horizon Europe as Associated Countries. They include the UK, Norway, Iceland, Israel, Iceland Turkey, Ukraine, Morocco, Tunisia, Serbia, Moldova, Kosovo, Montenegro &. North Macedonia. Legal entities from these countries are entitled to be funded.

Legal entities from other countries and international organisations can participate in Horizon Europe calls unless explicitly barred by work programme and/or the call/topic. Moreover, some Horizon Europe calls are particularly relevant for international cooperation, encouraging or even requiring participation of legal entities from non-EU or non-associated countries. It must be noted that while such participants can take part in Horizon Europe projects, they are not always entitled to receive funding. However, participants from the low- to middle-income countries are automatically eligible for funding. 

Horizon Europe aims at providing new knowledge and innovative solutions to enable the successful tackling of the most pressing societal, ecological and economic challenges through the help it offers to researchers and innovators in their effort to develop and deploy their innovative ideas. The Programme supports excellent science while ensuring the societal and socio-economic impact of scientific and technological endeavours funded by the Programme and while bringing together outstanding talent and top-graded infrastructures. Furthermore, Horizon Europe is so built as to support breakthrough innovations and creating new services and markets.

The Horizon Europe Programme consists of three Pillars:

Pillar 1: Excellent Science. This Pillar covers the European Research Council; the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions; and the Research Infrastructures Clusters. This Pillar aims at increasing the EU’s global scientific competitiveness. The European Research Council supports frontier research projects defined and driven by top researchers themselves. The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions fund fellowships for experienced researchers, doctoral training networks, exchanges for researchers and entices more young people to a career in research. The Research Infrastructures Clusters enable investments in world-class research infrastructures.

Pillar 2: Global Challenges & European Industrial Competitiveness. This Pillar covers the following Clusters: Health; Culture, Creativity & Inclusive Society; Civil Security for Society; Digital, Industry & Space; Climate, Energy & Mobility; Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture & Environment; and the Joint Research Centre. This Pillar supports, through the Clusters, topical research relating to societal challenges so that it reinforces technological and industrial capacities. In addition, it also includes activities pursued by the Joint Research Centre which helps EU and national policymakers with independent scientific evidence and technical support.

Pillar 3: Innovative Europe. This Cluster covers the European Innovation Council; the European innovation ecosystems; and the European Institute of Innovation & Technology. The aim of this Pillar is to t make Europe a frontrunner in market-creating innovation through the European Innovation Council. It also helps to develop the overall European innovation landscape, by developing European Innovation ecosystems and through the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) which fosters the integration of the “knowledge triangle” of education, research and innovation.

In addition to this, under what is known as the “Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area (ERA)” there are two subtitles: (i) Widening participation and spreading excellence; and (ii) Reforming and Enhancing the European R&I system. The aim here is to support EU Member States in their efforts to make the most of their national research and innovation potential and promote an ERA where researchers, scientific knowledge and technology circulate freely.

list of countries

Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Comoros, Congo (Democratic Republic), Congo (Republic), Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic  Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras  Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic), Iraq  Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea (Democratic People’s Republic), Kyrgyz Republic, Lao (People’s Democratic Republic), Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia (Federated States), Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic), Vietnam, Yemen Republic, Zambia, Zimbabwe.