When building a Horizon Europe consortium, the eligibility question is often framed simply: do you need partners from EU member states? The answer is more nuanced than that — and understanding it opens up the full geographic scope of the programme.
Associated countries are non-EU nations that have formal agreements with the European Union allowing their researchers and organisations to participate in Horizon Europe under conditions equivalent to those of EU member states. For consortium coordinators and research managers, knowing which countries are associated — and what limitations may apply — is a practical prerequisite for building competitive, compliant partnerships.
What an associated country is
Associated countries are non-EU nations that have formal agreements with the EU, allowing their entities to participate in Horizon Europe under similar conditions as EU member states. These countries contribute to the programme financially and in return, their researchers and organisations can apply for and receive funding.
The legal basis is clear: legal entities from associated countries can participate under equivalent conditions as legal entities from the EU member states, unless specific limitations or conditions are laid down in the work programme and/or call topic text.
This equivalence is significant. An organisation from Norway, Israel, or the United Kingdom does not participate as a second-tier partner — it has the same rights, obligations, and funding access as a partner from France or Germany. The associated country’s organisations sign the Grant Agreement, receive EU funding directly, and are subject to the same audit and compliance obligations as any EU-based beneficiary.
The current list of associated countries
As of 1 January 2026, the following countries are associated with Horizon Europe: Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada (Pillar II only), the Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, the Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand (Pillar II only), North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Republic of Korea (Pillar II only), Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
Several points on this list deserve particular attention:
Switzerland returned to full association in 2025, following a period of partial and provisional arrangements. Switzerland is now applicable to the entire programme for award procedures implementing the Union budget from 2025 onwards. Swiss research institutions — historically among the strongest in Europe — are once again fully eligible across all Horizon Europe instruments.
The United Kingdom is associated to the entire programme with one notable exception. The UK will participate in all parts of the Horizon Europe programme with the only exception of the EIC Fund, which is part of the EIC Accelerator of Horizon Europe that provides investment through equity or other repayable forms. UK organisations can join collaborative projects, apply for ERC grants, and participate in MSCA — but cannot receive equity investment through the EIC Accelerator.
Canada, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea are associated only to Pillar II — Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness. They are not eligible for ERC grants, MSCA fellowships, or EIC instruments under the standard association rules.
Egypt became associated to the full programme for award procedures from 2025 onwards — a notable expansion of the programme’s geographic reach into North Africa.
How association differs from third country participation
Beyond associated countries, Horizon Europe also allows participation from organisations in non-associated third countries — but under different conditions.
Third country organisations can participate in most Horizon Europe projects, but they do so without EU funding. They contribute to the project at their own cost, or through their own national funding mechanisms. Their participation must be justified as necessary for the project — the consortium cannot simply include a third country partner to meet geographic diversity criteria.
Some calls explicitly restrict participation to EU member states and associated countries only, particularly where EU strategic autonomy or security concerns are relevant. These restrictions are specified in the call topic text and must be checked before finalising consortium composition.
The practical implication: when building a consortium, partners from associated countries are effectively interchangeable with EU partners for most purposes. Partners from non-associated third countries require additional justification and receive no EU funding.
What limitations may apply even to associated countries
Full association does not mean unlimited participation in every part of the programme. Specific measures could include the limitation of participation in certain actions to legal entities established in the EU alone, or in the EU and specified non-EU countries, in order to safeguard the EU’s strategic assets, interests, autonomy or security.
In practice, these limitations appear most frequently in calls related to defence, critical infrastructure, cybersecurity, and advanced technologies with dual-use potential. The European Defence Fund, for example, has strict restrictions that go significantly beyond the standard Horizon Europe rules.
For standard collaborative research and innovation projects, these limitations rarely affect the majority of associated country partners. But the call topic text should always be checked for specific eligibility conditions before consortium composition is finalised.
Why associated country partnerships matter for consortium quality
The inclusion of associated country partners is not just an eligibility consideration — it is often a scientific and strategic one. Some of the strongest research institutions in Europe are located in associated countries.
Norwegian universities and research institutes bring significant expertise in marine science, energy, and Arctic research. Swiss institutions — particularly ETH Zurich and EPFL — are consistently ranked among the world’s leading research universities. Israeli technology companies and universities bring deep expertise in cybersecurity, agri-tech, and life sciences. UK universities and research councils represent a major component of European research capacity that, following re-association in 2024, is once again fully accessible to Horizon Europe consortia.
For coordinators building a consortium, the question should not be “is this country associated?” as a binary check — it should be “what does this partner bring, and does their country’s association status allow them to participate fully in this specific call?” Those are different questions, and both need to be answered before a partnership is confirmed.
Practical checklist for consortium coordinators
Before confirming a partner from a non-EU country, verify:
- Is the country an EU member state, an associated country, or a non-associated third country?
- If associated, are there any Pillar-specific limitations (e.g. Canada and Korea are Pillar II only)?
- Does the specific call topic text include any geographic restrictions beyond the standard rules?
- For UK partners: does the project involve EIC Accelerator equity investment? If so, UK organisations are excluded from that component.
- Is the partner’s PIC number registered and validated on the Funding and Tenders Portal?
These checks take minutes and prevent the far more costly problem of discovering an eligibility issue at the validation stage.
How Kronis PMO supports multi-country consortium management
Managing a consortium that spans EU member states and associated countries — with partners in Norway, the UK, Israel, or Switzerland alongside partners in Spain, Germany, or France — adds operational complexity to an already demanding coordination task. Different legal systems, different accounting practices, different time zones, and different institutional cultures all need to be managed within the same Grant Agreement framework.
Kronis PMO provides the shared operational layer that makes this manageable — giving every partner, regardless of country, visibility into their responsibilities, deadlines, and evidence requirements within a single system structured around the project’s Annex 1.
Final thoughts
Associated countries are a fundamental part of the Horizon Europe landscape — not an edge case or an exception. Understanding which countries are associated, under what conditions, and what that means for specific calls is basic knowledge for any coordinator building a competitive consortium.
The list changes. Switzerland returned to full association in 2025. The UK re-associated in 2024. New countries are in ongoing negotiations. Checking the Commission’s official list — updated regularly on the Funding and Tenders Portal — before finalising consortium composition is not optional. It is due diligence.
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