The European Commission has announced that it has opened early stage talks with Singapore about associating to Horizon Europe. As part of a push to open up the research and innovation programme to distant, “like-minded” democracies, South Korea, Canada and New Zealand have already negotiated association to the industrially-focused pillar II of the scheme, while Japan is currently in talks.
South Korea has officially completed negotiations to join the EU’s research and innovation programme Horizon Europe, making it the first Asian country outside the European region to associate. It’s the latest expansion of Horizon outside Europe, with Korea joining New Zealand and Canada in signing up to the programme.
South Korea is set to strike a deal with Brussels to join Horizon Europe, the EU’s €95.5 billion research and innovation scheme, as the European Commission wants more democracies outside of Europe to associate. Speaking last week, Park Sang-ook, a senior science and technology official in the office of the Korean president, said that a deal was “imminent”, according to several Korean news outlets.
Canada is to join Horizon Europe, the EU’s €95.5 billion programme for research and innovation, according to Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau. “Canada's joining Horizon Europe, which is the greatest research and innovation mechanism in the world right now,” Trudeau said during a televised statement ahead of the Canada-EU summit taking place today, ending months of speculation over the success of negotiations between Ottawa and Brussels on association.