Norway and Iceland have become the first Horizon Europe associated countries.

Norway and Iceland, members of the European Economic Area (EEA) and some of the best performers under Horizon 2020, have joined the Horizon Europe Programme as associated countries. They are the first non-EU members that will participate in Europe’s €95.5 billion 2021-2027 research and innovation program under the same conditions as other European countries. The negotiations with other countries, i.e. members of the EEA, accession countries, candidate countries and potential candidates, European neighborhood policy countries and non-EU countries and territories that comply with a set of economic, political and research and innovation criteria, are still ongoing.

According to the European Commission, amongst the countries who have expressed their formal interest in association to Horizon Europe by June 2021 are Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Montenegro, Morocco, North Macedonia, Norway, Republic of Moldova, Republic of Serbia, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and United Kingdom.