Various points regarding cooperation on research between Switzerland and the EU were discussed at the meeting: Switzerland’s participation in the EU framework programme for research and innovation (FP7 and Horizon 2020), in the Euratom programme and in the ITER project.
Thanks to the new agreement applied since 15 September 2014, researchers from Switzerland can take part in certain Horizon 2020 programme sections as associated partners, namely the grant funding programmes of the European Research Council (ERC), the FET flagships, the Marie Skłodowska Curie actions to promote researcher mobility, the programme to support research infrastructures and the programme section on Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation. As associated partners, researchers in Switzerland receive direct funding from the EU.
For most sections of the Horizon 2020 programme however, Switzerland has third country status: researchers in Switzerland can join European consortiums, but receive no EU funding. Switzerland has introduced a system of direct payments to enable its researchers to participate in programme sections for which no EU funding is available.
There is a possibility that Switzerland will be able to take part in the full Horizon 2020 programme from 2017, as a long as a solution can be found to the question of free movement of persons by 9 February 2017. If that is not the case, Switzerland’s partial association will end on 31 December 2016, meaning that Switzerland would only be able to participate in programme sections of Horizon 2020 with third country status.Address for enquiries:
Martin Fischer
Head, SERI Communication
Tel. 058 462 96 90
martin.fischer@sbfi.admin.ch
Publisher:
Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research
