India and EU Conclude Horizon Europe Talks, Targeting Research Access in January 2027

Indian researchers move closer to direct EU funding

India and the European Union have completed negotiations on an agreement that would allow Indian universities, research organisations and companies to receive funding directly from Horizon Europe and lead international research projects. The European Commission announced the conclusion of talks on 6 November 2026, with association envisaged for January 2027.

The agreement would bring India into Pillar II, the largest part of the EU's €93.5 billion research and innovation programme. It supports joint work on health, digital technologies, industry, space, climate, energy and the bioeconomy. Indian participants would compete on equal terms with EU organisations in the areas covered by the agreement.

Signature and approval procedures on both sides must come before participation begins. The timing matters: Horizon Europe runs from 2021 until December 2027, so the planned January entry would place India in the final year of the current programme.

The announcement also comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's expected visit to Brussels in mid December to sign the India-EU free trade agreement. Together, the initiatives would expand cooperation beyond buying and selling goods into the joint development of knowledge and technology.

What changes for universities and companies?

Indian researchers already have a route into Horizon Europe collaborations, but they generally need to bring their own funding. That can require a research team to coordinate separate sources of money before its work with European partners can proceed.

Association would give eligible Indian organisations direct access to Horizon Europe funding and the ability to lead collaborative projects under Pillar II. A university or company could therefore take responsibility for coordinating an international team, rather than participate only as a partner supported through another funding arrangement.

European universities, businesses and research organisations would also gain more opportunities to build projects with Indian partners. The practical change is a common funding route for teams whose members bring different scientific skills, facilities and industrial experience.

Which research areas are covered?

Pillar II carries the formal name Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness. In simpler terms, it pays for groups of researchers and businesses from different countries to work together on scientific and technological problems with practical uses.

Its fields include healthcare, artificial intelligence, digital technology, industrial development, space research, climate and energy. It also covers the bioeconomy, which involves using biological resources, such as plants, microorganisms and biological processes, to produce useful materials, products or energy.

India's association would cover this part of Horizon Europe. Indian institutions would remain outside the arrangements for hosting European Research Council grant winners, while Indian startups would remain outside European Innovation Council funding under this agreement.

For applicants, the immediate opportunity is therefore collaborative research. Teams would need to match their proposed work to the programme areas and funding calls available under Pillar II, rather than expect access to every Horizon Europe grant.

How the funding arrangement works

Horizon Europe's €93.5 billion budget funds the programme across its full 2021 to 2027 period and across participating countries. Indian organisations would seek grants from the relevant part of that shared programme through its application process.

India would also contribute financially. Association is the closest form of cooperation the EU offers countries outside the bloc under Horizon Europe: participating organisations gain access on equal terms in the agreed areas, while their country pays into the programme.

The European Commission set out that exchange in its February launch announcement. It said Indian researchers and institutions could receive funding directly and lead projects if India became associated, with India making a financial contribution.

The amount of India's contribution, the detailed application arrangements and an exact signature date have not been announced. January has also been described as a possible month for signing, alongside the Commission's target of association beginning that month.

From exploratory talks to a negotiated agreement

The negotiations developed through several stages in 2026, following the 16th EU-India Summit in New Delhi on 27 January. Leaders at that summit placed research and innovation within a wider programme of cooperation extending to 2030.

The Commission's February announcement described exploratory discussions as technical and nonbinding. Their purpose was to examine the scope, principles and conditions of a possible agreement before formal negotiations began. Informal contacts were described as starting in January; the official launch of exploratory discussions followed on 6 February.

• 27 January 2026: The New Delhi summit adopted the Joint EU-India Comprehensive Strategic Agenda Towards 2030.
• 6 February 2026: The Commission and India launched exploratory discussions on possible Horizon Europe association.
• 17 July 2026: Formal association negotiations began.
• 6 November 2026: The Commission announced that negotiations had successfully concluded.
• January 2027: Association is envisaged, subject to signature and completion of the required procedures.
• December 2027: The current Horizon Europe programme ends.

Ekaterina Zaharieva, the European commissioner for startups, research and innovation, explained the aim when exploratory discussions opened in February:

Science works best when borders do not get in the way of ideas. Exploring India's association to Horizon Europe is about connecting talent, ambition and trust, and building solutions together at global scale.

A partnership built since 2001

India and the EU signed their Agreement for Scientific and Technological Cooperation in 2001. It has been renewed until 2030, giving their scientific relationship a framework that extends beyond the end of the current Horizon Europe programme.

The Joint EU-India Comprehensive Strategic Agenda Towards 2030 identifies research and innovation as a central part of the relationship. Launching discussions on Horizon Europe association was one of its concrete commitments.

The EU-India Trade and Technology Council, agreed in 2023, provides another channel for cooperation. Its work includes artificial intelligence, semiconductors, digital public infrastructure, high performance computing, digital skills and the sixth generation of wireless telecommunications.

India's Unified Payments Interface and digital identity system are examples of its experience in digital public infrastructure. Such systems provide shared foundations on which public bodies and businesses can build services. The research agreement would add a funding route for joint scientific work alongside those existing technology discussions.

Business opportunities and movement of specialists

Companies are among the organisations expected to benefit from India's association. Pillar II brings businesses together with universities and research centres, creating opportunities to connect scientific work with the development of technologies and industrial applications.

Zaharieva welcomed the conclusion of negotiations by describing the agreement as an opening for businesses and a way for Indian and European researchers to work together:

The agreement opens new opportunities for our businesses. Horizon Europe will help our researchers and innovators work together on what comes next. We want Europe and India to be partners in developing the technologies that will shape our future.

India and the EU also launched the first European Legal Gateway Office in India in February. It aims to support safe, legal and informed movement to EU countries for professionals in information and communications technology.

The office and the research agreement address different practical needs within the same expanding relationship. One supports the movement of specialists, while the other would give eligible organisations a shared route to research funding and project leadership.

India joins a growing international network

Horizon Europe currently has 23 associated countries outside the EU, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, New Zealand, Norway and Ukraine. India would enter a programme whose research partnerships extend well beyond the bloc's 27 member states.

The Commission's February announcement listed 22 associated countries and said negotiations with Japan had concluded on 21 December 2025. Japan appears among the 23 associated countries listed by November. Negotiations with Australia have also concluded, with an association agreement expected to be signed.

India begins from a relatively modest level of participation. Its involvement in Horizon Europe has been lower than that of Australia, Brazil or Argentina, and much lower than that of China and the United States. Direct funding access would give Indian organisations a more straightforward basis for developing proposals with European partners.

Research teams would still need to learn the programme's application requirements and organise international collaborations. Equal access provides an opportunity to compete for support; successful projects will depend on proposals that meet the relevant funding conditions.

Trade talks and the approaching 2028 programme

Modi is expected to travel to Brussels in mid December for the formal signing of the India-EU free trade agreement, whose negotiations concluded in January. The trade agreement is expected to enter into force in 2027 following ratification by the European Parliament.

The trade and research agreements cover different activities. The trade agreement concerns commercial ties across a combined market of about two billion people. Horizon Europe association concerns the funding and organisation of joint research, including technologies that businesses may later develop and use.

For research institutions, another date is approaching quickly: Horizon Europe's successor is due to begin in 2028. Members of the European Parliament want that programme to include a category of trusted associated countries with access to sensitive projects. That proposal forms part of the debate about the next programme.

India's immediate task is to complete the current agreement and prepare organisations to participate during Horizon Europe's final year. Its longer scientific relationship with the EU already runs to 2030, leaving cooperation with the next research programme as a separate matter for the two sides to address.

Key Points

• The European Commission announced the conclusion of India's Horizon Europe association negotiations on 6 November 2026.
• Association is envisaged for January 2027, after signature and completion of procedures on both sides.
• Eligible Indian organisations would receive funding directly and lead collaborative projects under Pillar II.
• Covered fields include health, digital technologies, industry, space, climate, energy and the bioeconomy.
• India would contribute financially to the programme; the contribution amount has not been announced.
• The €93.5 billion Horizon Europe programme ends in December 2027, with its successor due to begin in 2028.