Switzerland’s Horizon Europe association boosts its role in the European Research Area and opens new opportunities for strategic international R&I cooperation.
Autumn 2025 has been eventful for international research and innovation (R&I) in Europe. Egypt and Switzerland signed their association to Horizon Europe in the second half of 2025, and several countries have expressed interest in being associated to the programme in the future. In this context, the signature of the EU Programmes Agreement (EUPA) on 10 November 2025, meaning that Switzerland is associated to Horizon Europe, Euratom and the Digital Europe Programme (DEP) retroactively from 1 January 2025, marks an important milestone since it also provides a closer alignment of Switzerland with the European Research Area.
Building on the Global Approach to Research and Innovation, the EU’s overarching internationalisation strategy, the EU is reshaping how it engages with global partners. The Global Approach is implemented via the European Research Area (ERA), via a dedicated specific action in the first ERA Policy Agenda (2022-2024). It also features in the second ERA Policy Agenda (2025-2027) as a structural policy, ensuring long-term, coordinated international cooperation in research and innovation. The ERA Forum’s Standing Subgroup on the Global Approach has continued its activities and will deliver the following outcomes: i. a European framework for science diplomacy (2025), ii. a roadmap for multilateral dialogue on values and principles for international cooperation in R&I (2025), iii. new Team Europe pilot initiatives (Latin America and Caribbean in 2025, India in 2026) and expanded Team Europe approaches with Africa and China, and iv. an opinion on organising international R&I cooperation with third countries under the next Framework Programme FP10. Through these efforts, the ERA agenda continues to be an important guidance for the EU external R&I cooperation, and is shaping opportunities for associated countries such as Switzerland as well as third countries.
When it comes to regional cooperation, two recent publications – a booklet and a short factsheet of the European Commission on the African Initiative II – highlight the outcomes of collaborative projects in areas such as climate, food systems, health, digitalisation, raw materials and research infrastructures. These initiatives align closely with the African Union (AU)–EU Innovation Agenda. The Africa Initiative III in the 2025 work programme expands cooperation from pilot projects to a more systemic collaboration. A significant advancement is the new implementing arrangement between the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) and the European Research Council (ERC), to foster scientific exchange and embed African researchers in frontier research environments. Additionally, the first AU–EU Dialogue on Science Diplomacy and the Innovation Fair 2025 have been other important milestones for a closer cooperation between both R&I ecosystems. The culmination of these efforts was marked by the 7th European Union-African Union Summit on 24 and 25 November, which celebrated 25 years of EU-AU partnerships and in which a joint declaration commits to “investing in education, research, science, technology, and skills development to drive further scientific discoveries and innovative solutions.”
Moreover, at the EU-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Summit in Santa Marta on 9 November, leaders adopted a Joint Declaration reaffirming the strategic nature of the partnership based on shared values and interests. The Declaration calls for a roadmap to advance cooperation in climate action, environmental protection, energy transition, and regional interconnections, areas where R&I are closely connected. In addition, at the COP30 in Belém, Brazil officially launched the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), for which a declaration of 53 countries was endorsed.
Furthermore, the EU–Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum (20-21 November 2025) reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific as a strategic region.
Finally, the EU’s International Partnerships framework underpins the Global Approach, while the Global Gateway and its recent Global Gateway Forum in October 2025, with its Team Europe Initiatives, emphasise the integration of infrastructure, capacity building and research. A key example is the emerging EU–LAC high-performance computing network for AI, which aims to connect existing infrastructures, develop skills, and create opportunities for joint innovation.