Countries Eligible for Funding

The complete list of countries automatically eligible for Horizon Europe funding is yet to be announced, but some preliminary information is already available.

The Commission will include the final list of eligible countries in the so-called Horizon Europe Programme Guide, which is expected to be published once the main calls for proposals are launched later this month. The list will include the following:

  • EU Member States, together with their outermost regions and Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT);
  • Horizon Europe Associated Countries; 
  • Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC) as defined by the World Bank, except for Brazil, Russia, India, China and Mexico- These are often referred to as "eligible third countries".

This, just like Annex A in Horizon 2020, will be an exhaustive list of countries. If a country is not listed, it will not be eligible to automatically receive EU funding under the programme (non-eligible third countries), although this will still be possible in exceptional cases where the call/topic text explicitly mentions such possibility. It is important to remember that just because a topic/call text states that the participation of organisations from a non-eligible third country is strongly encouraged or even mandatory in collaborative projects, this does not mean that Horizon Europe funding will be available to them. The 'Topic conditions and documents' section of the topic in question must explicitly state that funding for organisations from a particular non-eligible third country will be provided exceptionally.

In practice, the country status of each participant (eligible/non-eligible) will be reflected in the budget table in part A of the application form. Beneficiaries from countries automatically eligible for funding will need to have their share of the budget clearly indicated in the relevant columns (in accordance with the budget categories of Horizon Europe) and with the requested EU contribution indicated in the correct cell. Organisations from non-eligible countries, on the other hand, will need to have their costs identified in the relevant columns, but their requested EU contribution will normally be '0', unless they exceptionally want to request EU funding in a call where such funding is specifically envisaged for them.

Difference between eligibility for funding and eligibility to participate in projects

As in Horizon 2020, in Horizon Europe, eligibility for funding and eligibility to participate in projects are two different things. Horizon Europe is, in principle, open to any country in the world (especially the collaborative projects under Pillar II), although some parts of the programme may be restricted to organisations from EU Member States/Associated Countries. In many cases, it will be possible for organisations from non-eligible third countries to participate in collaborative projects, but without receiving EU funding. In these cases, it will be necessary for such non-funded organisations to cover their own participation or rely on national funding.