The EU and Japan Successfully Concluded Negotiations on Japan’s Association with Horizon Europe
23.12.2025 / 03:25 | Aktualizováno: 23.12.2025 / 03:53
On 22 December 2025, the European Commission and Japan successfully concluded negotiations on Japan’s association with the Horizon Europe programme, the EU’s flagship research and innovation funding programme with a budget of €93.5 billion for the period 2021–2027. The agreement will enable Japanese researchers to lead and coordinate their own research and innovation projects under the programme, apply for and receive funding, and pursue closer cooperation with partners in the EU and associated countries.
The agreement covers Pillar II of Horizon Europe, which focuses on addressing global challenges and strengthening European industrial competitiveness. Horizon Europe supports collaborative research and innovation primarily through funding consortium-based projects. Universities, research organisations, public institutions, and non-profit organisations may all participate in these projects.
Pillar II is organised into six thematic clusters:
- Health
(e.g. disease prevention, health systems, and medical technologies)
- Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society
(e.g. cultural heritage, democracy, and social inclusion)
- Civil Security for Society
(e.g. cybersecurity, crisis resilience, border protection)
- Digital, Industry and Space
(e.g. artificial intelligence, robotics, advanced manufacturing, and space technologies)
- Climate, Energy and Mobility
(e.g. climate neutrality, clean energy, sustainable transport)
- Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
(e.g. sustainable food systems, biodiversity, circular bioeconomy)
Under transitional arrangements, Japanese entities will be able to apply for Horizon Europe calls as of 2026 and will be treated as “eligible entities” from an associated country. The agreement itself, which is to be signed in 2026, represents the closest form of cooperation that the EU offers to global partners in this field.
Japan’s involvement in the programme offers opportunities to collaborate with advanced Czech partners on cutting-edge research and innovation in high value-added areas to Japanese stakeholders. Such cooperation can provide access to unique know-how, research infrastructures, and global value chains, enhance the international prestige and competitiveness of Japanese entities, and facilitate access to the EU market.
The Czech Embassy in Tokyo stands ready to fully support beneficial interactions between Czech and Japanese research organizations and companies. Please, feel free to reach out to us at Tokyo.Commerce@mzv.gov.cz.
Author: Ondřej Kopečný, Economic Diplomat, Embassy of the Czech Republic in Tokyo