The European Commission, alongside the EU-Ukraine summit (see other articles), on Thursday 2 February announced the opening of an office of the European research framework programme Horizon Europe, hosted by the National Research Foundation, in Kyiv Ukraine. The Commission intends to open this office in 2023.
The office will support the activities of the Horizon Europe National Contact Points in Ukraine. It will also support research and innovation networks in the country and exchanges between Ukrainian and European research communities.
The office will promote the participation of Ukrainian research actors in Horizon Europe, in particular by relaying opportunities for participation in the Framework Programme and by organising technical support activities for participation in calls.
The agreement associating Ukraine with Horizon Europe and the Euratom research and training programme has been in force since 9 June 2022.
In January 2023, despite the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, 49 Horizon Europe grants with net EU funding of €13 million included the participation of Ukrainian researchers and innovators. This figure is close to the 48 projects submitted by Ukrainian research and innovation actors under the previous Horizon 2020 framework programme in 2020, shortly before the Russian aggression.
The announcement of the opening of the Horizon Europe office in Kyiv comes in addition to other European support initiatives for the maintenance and development of research and innovation networks in Ukraine. For example, €25 million has been mobilised for grants under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (see EUROPE 13038/29) and €20 million has been committed by the European Innovation Council (EIC) to support high-tech small and medium-sized enterprises in Ukraine (see EUROPE 12968/29).
Link to the dedicated factsheet created by the European Commission: https://aeur.eu/f/57y (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)