Following the negotiations concluded in Wellington in December 2022, the association agreement was signed between New Zealand and the EU on 9 July 2023 for the participation of New Zealand in the EU Horizon Europe as an associated country.
With this agreement, researchers and organizations from New Zealand will be able to participate in Pillar II of the programme, the most relevant and biggest collaborative part that is primarily focused on shared global challenges in climate, energy, mobility, digital, industry and space, health, and more. They will collaborate in the programme on equal terms with entities from the EU Member States and will have access to Horizon Europe funding and networks of researchers in Europe and beyond aimed to tackle global challenges.
While this marks the first association with a close partner that is not geographically close to Europe, it also contributes to Europe's global approach to cooperation in research and innovation.
In line with this approach, formal negotiations to join Horizon Europe are currently ongoing with Canada and recently the Commission has launched negotiations with the Republic of Korea. Exploratory talks with Japan closed in September 2022 and technical discussions are ongoing.
With the association of New Zealand, the number of countries officially associated with the programme has reached 17. The full list of these countries can be accessed via this link.