EC press point and signing ceremony by European Commissioner Ekaterina ZAHARIEVA and Australian Minister of Industry and Innovation Tim AYRES on Australia’s association to Horizon Europe
12 November 2026
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European Commission
Follow its sittings00:11 - 02:54
Speaker 6
Good morning dear Minister Ayres, dear Ambassador, dear colleagues and friends of Australia. Welcome to Brussels. You live your spring time to join us during autumn. Actually, it's quite pleasant autumn for Brussels. We live in historic moment for the EU-Australia relations.
We are strengthening our ties to address the global geopolitical and economic circumstances. Research and innovation in your association to Horizon is a piece of this new strategic level cooperation. This is why I could not be happier that we are signing today the agreement. Two years ago, in '24, we celebrated 30 years, three decades, 30 years of our science and innovation cooperation under our agreement on science and technology cooperation. We had over 1,000 Australian successful participants in 8 880 European projects coming from your universities, your public and private companies.
Now, 32 years later, we open a new chapter. By associating with Horizon Europe, we're doing more than open the door to a major research and innovation program in the world. We are investing in partnership built on shared values, scientific excellence, and the conviction that international cooperation is essential to tackle our common challenges. Last week, Australian researchers demonstrated this potential in practice, achieving a world first in imaging spacecraft re-entry through an international research mission involving international partners, including Germany. This is precisely the kind of ambition and deeper cooperation we want to encourage, combining our talents, sharing knowledge, and turning excellent research into innovation that benefits our societies.
Practically, the association to Horizon Europe will now enable Australian researchers to lead and to coordinate projects under Horizon Europe. They will access direct funding opportunities. They will deepen collaboration with their counterparts across our 27 EU countries, but also with our other associated partners, including UK, Canada, Japan, New Zealand or South Korea, just to name a few. This will also boost opportunities for Australia's private sector. With our association agreement, we expect now that the level of participation of from Australia will change fundamentally.
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