ANNEX IV

Synergies with other Union programmes are based on complementarity between programme design and objectives and on compatibility of financing rules and processes at implementation level. Funding from the Programme shall be used only to finance R&I activities. The strategic planning shall ensure the alignment of priorities for the different Union programmes and ensure coherent funding options at different stages of the R&I cycle. Missions and European Partnerships shall, among other things, benefit from synergies with other Union programmes and policies. The deployment of research results and innovative solutions developed in the Programme shall be facilitated with the support of other Union programmes, in particular through dissemination and exploitation strategies, transfer of knowledge, complementary and cumulative funding sources and accompanying policy measures. Funding for R&I activities shall profit from harmonised rules that are designed to ensure Union added value, to avoid overlaps with different Union programmes and to seek maximum efficiency and administrative simplification. More detail as to how the synergies shall apply between the Programme and the different Union programmes is set out in the following paragraphs: Synergies with the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) shall ensure that: the R&I needs of the agricultural sector and of rural areas within the Union are identified, for example, within the European Innovation Partnership 'Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability' and taken into consideration in both the Programme's strategic planning and the work programmes; the CAP makes the best use of R&I results and promotes the use, implementation and deployment of innovative solutions, including those stemming from projects funded by the framework programmes for R&I, from the European Innovation Partnership 'Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability' and relevant KICs of the EIT; the EAFRD supports the uptake and dissemination of knowledge and solutions stemming from the Programme's results leading to a more dynamic farming sector and new openings for the development of rural areas. Synergies with the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) shall ensure that: the Programme and the EMFAF are closely interlinked, since Union R&I needs in the field of marine and integrated maritime policy are translated through the Programme's strategic planning; the EMFAF supports the rolling out of novel technologies and innovative products, processes and services, in particular those resulting from the Programme in the fields of marine and integrated maritime policy; the EMFAF also promotes ground data collection, processing and monitoring, and disseminates relevant actions supported under the Programme, which in turn contributes to the implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy, the EU Integrated Maritime Policy, International Ocean Governance and international commitments. Synergies with the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) shall ensure that: with the aim of strengthening the ERA and of contributing to the SDGs, arrangements for alternative and cumulative funding from ERDF and the Programme support activities that provide a bridge, in particular, between smart specialisation strategies and excellence in R&I, including joint trans-regional/trans-national programmes and pan European Research Infrastructures; the ERDF focuses, among other things, on the development and strengthening of regional and local R&I ecosystems, networks and industrial transformation, including support to building R&I capacities, to the take-up of results and to the rolling out of novel technologies and innovative and climate-friendly solutions from the framework programmes for R&I through the ERDF. Synergies with the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) shall ensure that: through national or regional programmes, the ESF+ can mainstream and scale up innovative curricula supported by the Programme, in order to equip people with the skills and competences needed for evolving demands of the labour market; arrangements for alternative and combined funding from ESF+ can be used to support activities of the Programme that promote human capital development in R&I with the aim of strengthening the ERA; the ESF+ mainstreams innovative technologies and new business models and solutions, in particular those resulting from the Programme, so as to contribute to innovative, efficient and sustainable health systems and facilitate access to better and safer healthcare for European citizens. Synergies with the EU4Health Programme shall ensure that: Union R&I needs in the field of health are identified and established through the Programme's strategic planning; the EU4Health Programme contributes to ensuring best use of research results, in particular those resulting from the Programme. Synergies with the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) shall ensure that: the R&I needs in the areas of transport, energy and in the digital sector within the Union are identified and established through the Programme's strategic planning; the CEF supports the large-scale roll-out and deployment of innovative new technologies and solutions in the fields of transport, energy and digital physical infrastructures, in particular those resulting from the framework programmes for R&I; the exchange of information and data between the Programme and CEF projects are facilitated, for example by highlighting technologies from the Programme with a high market readiness that could be further deployed through the CEF. Synergies with the Digital Europe Programme (DEP) shall ensure that: whereas several thematic areas addressed by the Programme and DEP converge, the type of actions to be supported, their expected results and their intervention logic are different and complementary; the R&I needs related to digital aspects of the Programme are identified and established through its strategic planning; this includes, for example, R&I for high performance computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, distributed ledger technologies, quantum technologies combining digital with other enabling technologies and non-technological innovations; support for the scale-up of companies introducing breakthrough innovations (many of which combine digital and physical technologies); and support to digital research infrastructures; DEP focuses on large-scale digital capacity and infrastructure building in, for example, high performance computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, distributed ledger technologies, quantum technologies and advanced digital skills aiming at wide uptake and deployment across the Union of critical existing or tested innovative digital solutions within a Union framework in areas of public interest (such as health, public administration, justice and education) or market failure (such as the digitisation of businesses, in particular SMEs); DEP is mainly implemented through coordinated and strategic investments with Member States, in particular through joint public procurement, in digital capacities to be shared across the Union and in Union-wide actions that support interoperability and standardisation as part of developing the Digital Single Market; DEP capacities and infrastructures are made available to the R&I community, including for activities supported under the Programme including testing, experimentation and demonstration across all sectors and disciplines; novel digital technologies developed through the Programme are to be progressively taken up and deployed by DEP; the Programme's initiatives for the development of skills and competencies curricula, including those delivered at the relevant EIT KICs, are complemented by DEP supported capacity-building in advanced digital skills; strong coordination mechanisms for strategic programming, operating procedures and governance structures exist for both programmes. Synergies with the Single Market Programme shall ensure that: the Single Market Programme addresses the market failures which affect SMEs and promotes entrepreneurship and the creation and growth of companies, and complementarity exists between the Single Market Programme and the actions of both the EIT and the EIC for innovative companies, as well as in the area of support services for SMEs, in particular where the market does not provide viable financing; the Enterprise Europe Network may serve, in addition to other existing SME support structures (e.g. National Contact Points, Innovation Agencies, Digital Innovation Hubs, Competence Centres, incubators), to deliver support services under the Programme, including the EIC. Synergies with the LIFE - Programme for Environment and Climate Action (LIFE) shall ensure that: the R&I needs to tackle environmental, climate and energy challenges within the Union are identified and established through the Programme's strategic planning; LIFE continues to act as a catalyst for implementing the Union's environment, climate and relevant energy policy and legislation, including by taking up and applying R&I results from the Programme and help deploying them at national, interregional and regional scale where it can help address environmental, climate or clean energy transition issues. In particular LIFE continues to incentivise synergies with the Programme through the award of a bonus during the evaluation for proposals which feature the uptake of results from the Programme; LIFE standard action projects support the development, testing or demonstration of suitable technologies or methodologies for the implementation of the Union's environment and climate policy, which can subsequently be deployed on a large scale, funded by other sources, including by the Programme. The EIT as well as the EIC can provide support to scale up and commercialise new breakthrough ideas that may result from the implementation of LIFE projects. Synergies with Erasmus+ shall ensure that: combined resources from the Programme, including from the EIT, and Erasmus+ are used to support activities dedicated to strengthening, modernising and transforming European higher education institutions. Where appropriate, the Programme complements the Erasmus+'s support for the European Universities Initiative in its research dimension, as part of the development of new joint and integrated long-term and sustainable strategies on education, R&I based on trans-disciplinary and cross-sectoral approaches to make the knowledge triangle a reality. The EIT's activities could complement the strategies to be implemented by the European Universities Initiative; the Programme and Erasmus+ foster the integration of education and research through assisting higher education institutions to formulate and set up common education, R&I strategies and networks, through informing education systems, teachers and trainers of the latest findings and practices in research and in offering active research experience to all students and higher education staff and in particular researchers, and to support other activities that integrate higher education and R&I. Synergies with the Union Space Programme shall ensure that: the R&I needs of the Union Space Programme and those of the space upstream and downstream sector within the Union are identified and established as part of the Programme's strategic planning; space research actions implemented through the Programme are implemented with regard to procurement and eligibility of legal entities in accordance with the Union Space Programme, where appropriate; space data and services made available as a public good by the Union Space Programme are used to develop breakthrough solutions through R&I, including in the Programme, in particular for sustainable food and natural resources, climate monitoring, atmosphere, land, coastal and marine environment, smart cities, connected and automated mobility, security and disaster management; the Copernicus Data and Information Access Services contribute to the EOSC and thus facilitate access to Copernicus data for researchers, scientists and innovators; research infrastructures, in particular in situ observing networks constitute essential elements of the in situ observation infrastructure enabling the Copernicus services, and in turn, they benefit from information produced by Copernicus services. Synergies with the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) and the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III) shall ensure that: the R&I needs in the areas of NDICI and IPA III are identified through the Programme's strategic planning, in line with the SDGs; the Programme's R&I activities, with the participation of third countries and targeted international cooperation actions, seek alignment and coherence with parallel market uptake and capacity-building actions strands under the NDICI and IPA III, based on joint definition of needs and of areas of intervention. Synergies with the Internal Security Fund and the instrument for border management as part of the Integrated Border Management Fund shall ensure that: the R&I needs in the areas of security and integrated border management are identified and established through the Programme's strategic planning; the Internal Security Fund and the Integrated Border Management Fund support the deployment of innovative new technologies and solutions, in particular those resulting from the framework programmes for R&I in the field of security research. Synergies with the InvestEU Programme shall ensure that: the Programme provides Horizon Europe blended finance and EIC blended finance for innovators, characterised by a high level of risk and for which the market does not provide sufficient and viable financing; at the same time, the Programme supports the effective delivery and management of the private part of blended finance through funds and intermediaries supported by the InvestEU Programme and others; financial instruments for R&I and SMEs are grouped together under the InvestEU Programme, in particular through a dedicated R&I thematic window, and through products deployed under the SME window, thereby helping to deliver the objectives of both programmes as well as establishing strong complementary links between both programmes; the Programme provides appropriate support to help the reorientation of bankable projects, not suitable for EIC funding, towards the InvestEU Programme, where relevant. Synergies with the Innovation Fund under the Emission Trading Scheme (the 'Innovation Fund') shall ensure that: the Innovation Fund specifically targets innovation in low-carbon technologies and processes, including environmentally safe carbon capture and utilisation that contributes substantially to mitigate climate change, as well as products substituting carbon intensive ones, and to help stimulate the construction and operation of projects that aim towards the environmentally safe capture and geological storage of CO2 as well as innovative renewable energy and energy storage technologies, and to enable and to incentivise 'greener' products; the Programme funds the development and demonstration of technologies, including breakthrough solutions, that can deliver on the Union's climate neutrality, energy and industrial transformation objectives, especially through its Pillar II and Pillar III activities; the Innovation Fund may, subject to fulfilment of its selection and award criteria, support the demonstration phase of eligible projects that may have received the support from the Programme and strong complementary links shall be established between both programmes. Synergies with the Just Transition Mechanism shall ensure that: R&I needs are identified through the Programme's strategic planning to support a just and fair transition towards climate-neutrality; the take-up and deployment of innovative and climate-friendly solutions, in particular those resulting from the Programme, are promoted. Synergies with the Euratom Research and Training Programme shall ensure that: the Programme and the Euratom Research and Training Programme develop comprehensive actions supporting education and training (including MSCA) with the aim of maintaining and developing relevant skills in Europe; the Programme and the Euratom Research and Training Programme develop joint research actions focussing on cross-cutting aspects of the safe and secure use of non-power applications of ionising radiation in sectors such as medicine, industry, agriculture, space, climate change, security and emergency preparedness and contribution of nuclear science. Potential synergies with the European Defence Fund shall benefit civil and defence research with a view to avoiding unnecessary duplication and in accordance with Article 5 and Article 7(1). Synergies with the Creative Europe Programme shall be fostered by identifying R&I needs in the field of cultural and creative policies in the Programme's strategic planning. Synergies with the Recovery and Resilience Facility shall ensure that: R&I needs to support making Member States economies and society more resilient and better prepared for the future are identified through the Programme's strategic planning; the take-up and deployment of innovative solutions, in particular those resulting from the Programme, are supported.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-31 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.