Formal negotiations have opened on Australia becoming an associated country in Horizon Europe, the European Union’s main research and innovation funding programme.
The talks were announced after a visit by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to Australia, the European Commission informed on Tuesday.
Ekaterina Zaharieva, the European Commissioner for Startups, Research, and Innovation, said the EU was “moving quickly” to bring EU and Australian “innovation ecosystems closer together.”
Australia already takes part in more than 200 Horizon Europe projects.
If an association agreement is reached, Australian organisations would be able to apply directly for Horizon Europe funding and take part on similar terms to EU member states and other associated countries.
What “association” means
Association is the closest form of science and technology cooperation the EU offers a non-EU country under its research framework programmes, the Commission said.
There are currently 22 non-EU countries associated with Horizon Europe, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, Switzerland and Ukraine.
The EU and Australia have worked together on research for decades under a Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement first signed in 1994 and amended in 1999.
