[News Terms] 'Horizon Europe' as Justification for Increased R&D Budget

EU's 7-Year Program Providing 138 Trillion Won Support
Korea to Join Next Year... Paying Contributions and Participating in Research

'Horizon Europe' is the European Union's (EU) largest multilateral research and innovation (R&I) funding program, supporting 95.5 billion euros (approximately 138 trillion KRW) over seven years from 2021 to 2027.

Since 1984, the EU has operated the pan-European multilateral research and innovation funding program (EU Framework Program). The purpose is to secure Europe’s own scientific and technological capabilities and momentum, and to strengthen the bonds among European researchers by promoting R&I projects at the EU level that individual member states find difficult to pursue on their own.

European Union (EU) Commission building in Brussels, Belgium.
[Photo by EPA Yonhap News]

'Horizon Europe' consists of three areas: R&D in human resource development, R&D for solving global social issues and strengthening industrial competitiveness, and capacity-building programs for small and medium-sized enterprises within Europe. Among these, more than half of the budget, 53.5%, is allocated to the second area, R&D for solving global social issues and strengthening industrial competitiveness.

The 8th program of this initiative was 'Horizon 2020,' which supported 80 billion euros (approximately 115 trillion KRW) over seven years from 2014 to 2020, and the 9th program is 'Horizon Europe.'

Since 2022, South Korea has been pursuing associate membership in 'Horizon Europe' to strengthen advanced and innovative technology cooperation with the EU. From the 9th program that started in 2021, the EU has proposed associate membership to third countries with excellent scientific and technological capabilities and that meet criteria such as open economies and intellectual property protection, including South Korea, Japan, Canada, Australia, Singapore, and New Zealand.

On the 5th, a senior official from the Presidential Office told reporters, "Negotiations for South Korea’s associate membership in the research and innovation funding program 'Horizon Europe' have been underway and are nearing conclusion," adding, "Starting next year, South Korea will join Horizon Europe, pay contributions, and participate in the global program by directly securing EU research funds for research."

According to the Presidential Office, Minister of Science and ICT Jong-ho Lee is scheduled to visit Brussels, Belgium, later this month to announce the conclusion of the negotiations. The contract for membership will be signed in October, and full activities as an associate member of Horizon Europe will begin next year.

Once South Korea becomes an associate member of Horizon Europe, it will pay contributions, and Korean researchers will be able to receive European research funding, participate in global programs, and gain various international cooperation opportunities.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.