I- Background to the Forthcoming Association

To date, 22 countries are associated with the Horizon Europe programme. Australia could soon become the 23rd associated country, alongside Japan and India.

On 31 March 2026, following the visit of the President of the European Commission to Australia on 24 March, negotiations between the European Union and Australia were officially launched. This association will cover only Pillar II, relating to global challenges and European industrial competitiveness, as is already the case for South Korea, Canada and New Zealand. This approach allows the EU to open up Horizon Europe association more easily through partial membership, while enabling associated countries to reduce the cost of their participation. 

The Commission is ambitious and hopes to conclude negotiations by summer 2026, so that the agreement can enter into force as early as 1 January 2027. This follows the conclusion of free trade agreement negotiations, which were also initiated with Australia.

Australia already has a Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement with the European Union dating back to 1994. An association with Horizon Europe would represent the closest form of international scientific and technological cooperation possible between the EU and a third country.

II- The Case for such an Association

According to the European Commission, Australia already participates in more than 200 projects under Horizon Europe, with researchers and organisations actively contributing to collaborative efforts across a wide range of fields. This is already a well-functioning partnership: according to the Australian government, more than 60% of Australian scientific research is conducted with an international partner. EU Member States have collectively been Australia's leading scientific partner for over three decades, with nearly 17,000 co-publications in 2024 alone.

Association with the Horizon Europe programme is actively sought by researchers across Australia. The Group of Eight (Go8) — a coalition of Australia's eight most prestigious and research-intensive universities, globally recognised for their excellence in health sciences, medicine, physical sciences, defence, space and artificial intelligence — published a report entitled Pivotal: Australia's Horizon Europe Opportunity. This report clearly illustrates the enthusiasm of the research community for joining the programme. Researchers wish to share their innovations, access a new market, and above all gain access to the world's largest collaborative research platform. They also highlight the EU's broader ambition to open the programme to the Asia-Pacific region, which represents 60% of the global population.

According to the Horizon Europe France website, collaborations developed under Horizon Europe could address shared strategic priorities such as critical materials, health and climate.

As negotiations have only just begun, no precise figures regarding Australia's financial contribution to the programme have yet been made public. It has nonetheless already been established that this contribution will be calculated on the basis of Australian GDP.