Association to Horizon Europe will give Australia access to joint research and innovation projects with the EU and other associated countries. Association means access to more Horizon Europe funding than we’ve had before and collaboration opportunities for researchers, industry and business.
The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese and European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen have agreed to begin formal treaty negotiations on Australia’s association to Horizon Europe.
Horizon Europe runs on a 7-year cycle and is the world’s largest pooled research funding program for international science and innovation collaboration. Framework Programme 9 is the current iteration with a funding pool of $155 billion (EUR 95.5 billion).
This large pool of funding attracts talented researchers and allows research projects at a scale that would be difficult for Australia to achieve alone.
Horizon Europe currently has 20 non-EU associated countries. It is the closest form of international cooperation in science and technology between the EU and a non-EU country.
Associate status will allow Australian organisations to lead and participate in projects on key research priorities, including:
- supply chain security
- advanced computing
- critical technologies
- critical minerals
- health
- climate and clean energy.
The EU and Australia have a long history of working together on productive research. Building global partnerships in research and innovation has always been important for Australia’s productivity and economy. It is an important means to address shared challenges.
Over 60% of Australian science research is undertaken with an international partner. EU Member States have collectively been Australia’s top scientific partner for over 3 decades, with close to 17,000 co-publications in 2024 alone.
Following the end of the treaty process, we expect Australian organisations will be able to apply for Horizon Europe research calls from early 2027.