Through the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and the UK (TCA). All aspects of the UK association to Horizon Europe were agreed on 24 December 2020 in the TCA and documents attached to the Agreement. The association will enter into force through the formal adoption of a Protocol that is already agreed in principle. No additional negotiations are foreseen.

Yes. They have full rights to participate in calls for proposals for Horizon Europe as soon as they are published on the European Commission's website. In duly justified exceptional cases, restrictions may apply, which will be clearly stated in the calls for proposals.

The United Kingdom is associated with the full Horizon Europe program, with the sole exception of the European Innovation Council (which is the EIC loan facility). UK entities are not eligible to participate in the EIC part of the EIC Accelerator. The United Kingdom will not participate in the European Defense Fund, which has a different legal basis and is not covered by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Once the Associated Country status is in force, UK participants will have the same rights as EU participants, with the very limited aforementioned exceptions. UK entities will be eligible for funding at the same rates and under the same conditions. They will be able to lead project consortia. They will also count towards the minimum number of countries in calls for transnational projects.

The financial contribution of the United Kingdom consists of an operating contribution to cover operating and support expenditure and a participation fee, which covers the administrative costs of organizing a system of participation in EU programs. If a significant imbalance arises between the United Kingdom's operational contribution and what it receives from the program, corrective mechanisms will be applied.