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Horizon Europe — Switzerland always being important

Bern, 14 July 2021 - Nowadays, Switzerland will be considered as a non-associated third nation in the EU Horizon Europe research and innovation framework program and related programs and initiatives. Researchers in Switzerland can participate in calls for tenders in this method as well, albeit to a lesser extent, and be funded directly by the federal government. Individual project participation is no longer practicable in principle, including future requests for ideas from the European Research Council, the Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions, and the European Innovation Council. The Federal Council has said that it wants Switzerland to be fully integrated into Horizon Europe.

 

Non-EU member states can participate in the EU Horizon Europe research and innovation framework program in two ways: as associated third countries or as non-affiliated third countries. On July 12, 2021, the European Commission (EC) informed the State Secretariat for Education, Research, and Innovation (SERI) that Switzerland is a non-associated third country for all tenders in 2021.

 

Researchers in Switzerland can also engage in Horizon Europe and associated programs and initiatives in this manner, as well as apply for program components and financial instruments that are available to them. In most cases, however, they do not receive any financing from EC to cover the costs of their projects. In this scenario, SERI will support participation wherever it is possible. The Swiss Parliament has already agreed to support Swiss participation in the Horizon package for CHF 6.15 billion, as well as the prospect of direct financing for Swiss researchers.

 

Individual projects funded by the European Research Council, Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions, and the European Innovation Council are presently closed to Swiss researchers. Exceptions apply to the ERC Starting Grants and ERC Consolidator Grants calls that have previously closed: Due to the mobility of these funds, project applications from researchers at Swiss host institutions are fully reviewed by the EC. If these funding are approved by the European Commission, SERI will fund researchers in Switzerland directly.

 

SERI develops proposals for appropriate transitional measures as part of the federal credit and budget procedure for all requests in 2021 for which Swiss researchers and innovators have no involvement or evaluation choices. If long-term replacement measures are required, the Federal Council will address them as soon as possible.

 

The Federal Council continues to pursue membership in the program; however, no discussions between Switzerland and the European Union are presently underway in this respect. The EC mentions the payment of the second enlargement contribution and the conclusion of a so-called  Specific Agreement that regulates Switzerland's participation in EU programs and is already mentioned in Switzerland's negotiating mandate when it comes to Switzerland's future association with "Horizon Europe." Furthermore, the European Commission anticipates the commencement of discussions in the framework of Switzerland's overall relationship with the EU.

 

Horizon Europe, the EU's research and innovation framework program, runs from 2021 to 2027 and is the world's largest research and innovation financing program, with a budget of more than 95 billion euros. It is designed to encourage ecological and digital change across Europe in conjunction with the unprecedented next-generation EU economic stimulus plan. Switzerland was a full partner in the precursor program Horizon 2020 and is working to achieve the same status for Horizon Europe and its accompanying programs and activities (namely Euratom program, ITER, and Digital Europe program).

 

Sources:

https://www.admin.ch/gov/de/start/dokumentation/medienmitteilungen.msg-id-84440.html

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