Horizon Europe Grant Management

Horizon Europe – UK to become an Associated Country

The UK is no longer a Member State but it was agreed as part of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (Brexit Deal) that we would participate as an Associated Country. This means that the UK would pay into the Horizon Europe Programme and enjoy the same participation rights as a Member State.

Delay in Association

The terms of association are already agreed in Protocol 1 to the Brexit Deal, meaning that association should have been a formality rather than a negotiation. However, Horizon Europe has become a bargaining chip for leverage in other post-Brexit politics and as a result of this association is delayed.  Following the adoption of the ‘Windsor Framework’, we however expect discussions to restart on the UK’s association, once the deal is implemented.

At application stage, UK applicants are deemed to be eligible for all Horizon Europe calls. However if an award is made before official Association, it is expected that the UKRI Guarantee Fund will cover the budget of UK applicants. The UKRI has recently been extended and currently covers all Horizon Europe calls with final submission deadlines on or before 30 June 2023. It is understood at this stage that the UKRI Guarantee Fund should, if needed, be further extended beyond June 2023 to ensure that all successful awards are funded until formal association.

For more information, please consult our Post Brexit Environment and UK association page.

UKRI Guarantee Fund

All Horizon Europe projects awarded to date have been underwritten by the UKRI Guarantee Fund. The total budget awarded to the University of Leeds as part of the European Commission (EC) proposal is guaranteed by UKRI and converted into GBP using an exchange rate set by UKRI at the time of award.

UKRI are using two different routes to support these underwrite awards:

  • Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) and European Research Council (ERC) are being funded by UKRI using the Joint Electronic Submissions system (Je-S)
  • Research and Innovation actions (RIA) are being funded by Innovate UK’s Innovation Funding Service (IFS) portal.

More information regarding the terms and conditions for both underwrite awards can be found below: