Horizon Europe expands to include Japan

Horizon Europe now extends to the other side of the world. In just five years, the programme has welcomed fourteen non-EU countries, including South Korea, Egypt and New Zealand. Last year, Horizon also started negotiating with Australia. 

The programme, which spends over 13 billion euros annually on scientific research, now has 23 “associated” countries, in addition to the 27 EU Member States.

Payment
Japan will sign the agreement later this year, but Japanese scientists can already benefit from the partnership. They no longer need to join a European research group to be eligible for European funding. Applications for Japanese research, on Japanese soil, now count too.

The country has to pay for this, however. The details of the deal will be announced later, but partner countries often spend more on Horizon than their scientists receive from the programme. Even so, non-EU countries are still happy to participate, according to Annabel Hoven, former policy advisor for Neth-ER, an interest group representing Dutch knowledge institutions in Brussels. "Horizon has become an international brand. It only funds excellent research, and it's a competitive system. Scientists are keen to include a Horizon grant on their CV."

Geopolitical bargaining chip
According to Hoven, this allows the EU to use the programme as a diplomatic tool; a means of strengthening ties with other countries. Only China and the United States can compete with the EU in academia, and the EU is aware of this.

The European Commissioner responsible for the programme, Ekaterina Zaharieva, refers to science and innovation as nothing less than a geopolitical currency. "Today, more than ever, science, technology and innovation translate into power and geopolitical influence."

“Science diplomacy” has become part of the EU's toolkit. In 2024, Egypt promised to limit the flow of migrants to Europe. A year later, the country joined Horizon.

Security and stability
Meri Georgievska-Van de Laar, Director of European Affairs at Erasmus University, has witnessed how European cooperation in academic matters has brought progress in Macedonia, where she was born and raised, and Turkey, where she has worked for many years. Both countries are candidates for EU membership and, as such, have been granted Horizon membership.

As far as she is concerned, more countries south of Europe should be involved in Horizon as well, as they "have expertise in areas where Europe is vulnerable, such as water security, drought management, infectious diseases, and sustainable agriculture. We can learn a lot from them." Tunisia has been participating in the programme for some time, and the EU announced new talks with Jordan at the beginning of January.

In addition, Georgievska-Van de Laar believes that Europe's security also increases if the countries around it are safe and stable. "Thanks to the participation of countries such as Egypt, we are gaining strategic allies who also pay us for their participation and share their talent and knowledge with us."

A billion “inhabitants”
Switzerland joined the predecessor to Horizon as early as 1987, followed by Iceland, Norway and Israel in the 1990s. More countries joined later, but things really took off after 2021, when countries from all over the world became eligible to participate. Fourteen new partner countries have joined since, including New Zealand, South Korea and Canada.

Thanks to the 124 million Japanese people now joining the programme, the 23 partner countries have a combined population of 593 million, compared to 450 million if one only counts the EU member states. Together, the population of the countries in Horizon Europe surpasses one billion. Will it now be more difficult for scientists from a small country such as the Netherlands to obtain funding for their research projects?

Competition
One can expect many grant applications, especially from countries such as Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Canada, says Annabel Hoven. The scientific infrastructure in those countries is more developed.

At the same time, this expansion means more money is available, and the EU retains control over that money. "The associated countries play a role in the implementation, but have no say in strategic choices, such as what type of research receives funding."

When the United Kingdom, a scientific superpower, rejoined Horizon after Brexit, it had no impact on the number of grants awarded to the Netherlands.

World power
Cooperation with non-European countries came under scrutiny due to Israel's violence in Gaza. Last year, the European Commission considered expelling the country from Horizon, but Germany strongly opposed the idea. In the Netherlands, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) still advocates suspending Israel from Horizon.

What about Egypt, a country that not only struggles with corruption but is also undemocratic and has virtually no academic freedom? KNAW has not yet taken a position on Egypt, a spokesperson confirmed.

One can expect scientists and the EU to clash over values more often, and that's something we should not be naive about, says Georgievska-Van de Laar. Knowledge security should remain a priority. "We must cooperate where it is safe and useful and protect what is sensitive and strategic. But only by working together can we make Europe a leading scientific world power."