The European Commission and Australia have concluded negotiations for Australia to associate to part of Horizon Europe, the EU’s €93.5 billion research and innovation funding programme.
Australia will join Horizon Europe’s Pillar II, which funds collaborative research addressing areas including digital, industry and space; climate, energy and mobility; and food, bioeconomy and agriculture, the Commission announced on Tuesday.
The EU and Australia have already worked together on major science projects including the Square Kilometre Array — a large radio telescope project.
Australian organisations have taken part in 239 Horizon Europe projects so far. Nearly one in four individual applications from Australia has been selected for participation, giving a 24.39% success rate.
What changes from 2027
From January 2027, a transitional arrangement will move Australian entities from “third-country” rules to being treated as “eligible entities” from an associated country, the European Commission said.
Under third-country rules, Australian participants typically had to self-fund or rely on limited exceptions to receive EU money.
With association to Pillar II, Australian entities will be able to access EU funding on the same terms as EU member states’ organisations, including leading project consortia.
