G. International cooperation

International cooperation with partners in third countries is necessary to address effectively many specific objectives defined in Horizon 2020, in particular those relating to Union external and development policies and international commitments. This is the case for all the societal challenges addressed by Horizon 2020, which are common in nature. International cooperation is also essential for frontier and basic research in order to capture the benefits from emerging science and technology opportunities. Promoting R&I staff mobility at an international scale is therefore crucial to enhance this global cooperation. Activities at international level are equally important to enhance the competitiveness of European industry by promoting the take-up and trade of novel technologies, for instance through the development of worldwide standards and interoperability guidelines, and by promoting the acceptance and deployment of European solutions outside Europe. All international activities should be supported by an efficient and fair knowledge transfer framework which is critical for innovation and growth. The focus of international cooperation in Horizon 2020 will be on cooperation with three major country groupings: industrialised and emerging economies; enlargement and neighbourhood countries; and developing countries. Where appropriate, Horizon 2020 will promote cooperation at bi-regional or multilateral level. International cooperation in research and innovation is a key aspect of the Union's global commitments and has an important role to play in the Union's partnership with developing countries, such as progressing towards the achievement of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals. Article 27 of Regulation (EU) No 1291/2013 sets out the general principles for participation of legal entities from third countries and of international organisations. As research and innovation in general benefit largely from an openness towards third countries, Horizon 2020 will continue with the principle of general openness while encouraging reciprocal access to third country programmes. Where appropriate, and in particular to safeguard European interest as regards intellectual property, a more cautious approach may be adopted. In addition, a range of targeted actions will be implemented taking a strategic approach to international cooperation on the basis of common interest, priorities and mutual benefit and promoting coordination and synergies with Member States' activities. This will include a mechanism for supporting joint calls and the possibility of co-funding programmes together with third countries or international organisations. Synergies with other Union policies will be sought. Strategic advice from the Strategic Forum for International Scientific and Technological Cooperation (SFIC) will continue to be sought. Without prejudice to other collaboration opportunities, examples of areas where such strategic international cooperation may be developed are: the continuation of the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP2) on clinical trials for medical interventions against HIV, malaria, tuberculosis and neglected diseases; support by way of an annual subscription to the Human Frontier Science Programme (HFSP) to allow non-G7 Member States to fully benefit from the funding provided by the HFSP; international consortium on rare diseases, with a number of Member States and third countries. The aim of this initiative is to develop by 2020 diagnostic tests for most rare diseases and 200 new therapies for rare diseases; support to the activities of the International Knowledge-Based Bio-Economy Forum and the EU-US Task Force on Biotechnology Research as well as collaborative links with relevant international organisations and initiatives, such as global research alliances on agricultural greenhouse gases and on animal health; contribution to multilateral processes and initiatives, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), and the Group on Earth Observations (GEO); the Space Dialogues between the Union and the United States and Russia, the two major space faring nations, is an extremely valuable one and forms the basis for the establishment of strategic cooperation in space partnerships; the implementing arrangement between the Union and the United States for cooperative activities in the field of Homeland Security/Civil Security/Research, signed on 18 November 2010; cooperation with developing countries, including from Sub-Saharan Africa, in the field of decentralised energy production for poverty alleviation; continuation of research collaboration with Brazil on new generation of biofuels and other uses of biomass. In addition, dedicated horizontal activities will be supported in order to ensure the coherent and effective development of international cooperation across Horizon 2020.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-04 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.