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Who can join a Horizon Europe call from outside the EU?

Source last checked: 27 October 2026

Can an organisation outside the EU join a Horizon Europe call?

Usually yes, but two different questions decide it, and they have different answers. Whether you may participate is set by the call and topic conditions. Whether you may be funded is set by where you are established. An organisation can be allowed into a consortium and still not be allowed to charge costs to the grant.

General Annex B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027 keeps these apart. It first defines who is an eligible participant, then separately lists the countries whose entities are eligible for funding. An entity that fails the funding test is not simply out: it may usually come in as an associated partner, which participates without signing the grant agreement and without the right to charge costs.

Entities not eligible for funding (and therefore not able to participate as beneficiaries) may participate as associated partners, unless specified otherwise in the specific call/topic conditions.

Source: General Annexes, page 12

So the practical reading order is: check the funding country list first, then read the topic's own eligibility conditions, because the topic can narrow what the Annex allows.

Which countries are eligible for funding by default?

Member States, their Overseas Countries and Territories, countries associated to Horizon Europe, and a list of low- and middle-income countries. Anything outside those groups needs a specific basis in the call or topic.

The associated countries named in General Annex B at the time the Work Programme was adopted are Albania, Arab Republic of Egypt, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Republic of Korea, Serbia, Switzerland, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. The Annex states that further third countries may become associated during the programme, and that applicants in countries still negotiating association are treated as established in an associated country if the agreement applies when the grant agreement is signed (General Annexes, page 11). The low- and middle-income country list is separate and is set out on page 12.

Two details on that list are easy to miss. The United Kingdom is associated to the whole programme except the EIC fund, the equity arm of the EIC Accelerator (page 11, footnote). And the Annex itself warns that the list is correct only as at adoption, pointing to the Portal's list of participating countries for the current position.

How a topic limits participation to named countries

It states the restriction in its own eligibility conditions and names the countries. The legal basis is Article 22(5) of the Horizon Europe Regulation, and General Annex B says where to look for the list.

In line with Article 22(5) of the Horizon Europe Regulation, for actions related to EU strategic assets, interests, autonomy or security, the specific call/topic conditions may limit participation to legal entities established only in EU Member States or in EU Member States and specific associated or non-associated third countries. In this case, the eligible countries will be identified in the specific call/topic conditions.

Source: General Annexes, page 9

This is the restriction that most often surprises applicants, because the default funding list stops mattering. The topic's list replaces it, and it can be much shorter. Two live examples show how far the range goes. HORIZON-CL4-2027-04-DATA-03 keeps a broad group:

For this reason, participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States, Iceland and Norway and the following additional associated countries: Canada, Israel, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Source: topic conditions, HORIZON-CL4-2027-04-DATA-03

HORIZON-CL4-2027-SPACE-03-21 cuts it to three:

In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security, participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States, Norway and Iceland.

Source: topic conditions, HORIZON-CL4-2027-SPACE-03-21

Both are Research and Innovation Actions in the same cluster, published in the same Work Programme. The restriction is written per topic, so a partner that is eligible for one is not thereby eligible for the other, and there is no cluster-level or destination-level rule you can rely on instead.

How a topic bars entities controlled from a third country

It excludes entities that are established in an eligible country but controlled, directly or indirectly, from outside it. Where you are registered stops being sufficient; who controls you is also tested.

General Annex B provides for this in two forms. Alongside the country limitation, it allows the topic conditions to exclude entities controlled by non-eligible third countries, or to attach conditions to their participation, for duly justified and exceptional reasons (General Annexes, page 9). Separately, it sets out a restriction on control in Innovation Actions in critical technology areas, resting on Article 22(5) and applying to Innovation Actions in the areas the Commission identified as most sensitive for economic security: advanced semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum, biotechnologies, advanced connectivity, navigation and digital technologies, advanced sensing, space and propulsion, energy, robotics and autonomous systems, advanced materials, manufacturing and recycling technologies (page 10).

HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-FCT-03, an Innovation Action, applies it in these words:

In line with the “ restriction on control in innovation actions in critical technology areas ” delineated in General Annex B of the General Annexes, entities established in an eligible country but which are directly or indirectly controlled by China or by a legal entity established in China are not eligible to participate in the action.

Source: topic conditions, HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-FCT-03

Note what the topic text does and does not do. It does not name the eligible countries, so the default funding list still applies; it adds a control test on top of it. A subsidiary established in a Member State but controlled from China is inside the country list and still outside this topic.

What the communication networks restriction means

It bars entities assessed as high-risk suppliers of mobile network equipment, and the entities they own or control, from the funded roles. It is flagged on the topic in a single line, and the substance sits in the Annex.

HORIZON-CL3-2027-01-BM-01 carries the whole flag as: “Subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks.” That sentence is the topic's entire statement of it. The rule it points to reads:

Entities that are assessed as high-risk suppliers of mobile network communication equipment (and any entities they own or control) are not eligible to participate as beneficiaries, affiliated entities and associated partners.

Source: General Annexes, page 8

General Annex B states that this criterion also applies to proposals within the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions that concern the evolution of European communication networks, and that the assessment turns on the likelihood of interference from a non-associated third country, looking at ownership and governance, business conduct, and the characteristics of the third country itself (page 8 and page 9). Exceptions may be requested from the granting authority and are assessed case by case.

Unlike the country limitations, this restriction names no country at all. Reading the topic page for a country list will not tell you whether it affects you.

Where China sits: a programme-wide bar, not a topic condition

For Innovation Actions and most Research and Innovation Actions the bar is in the Annex itself, so it applies whether or not the topic repeats it. This is the one country restriction you can miss by reading only the topic page.

(1) Innovation Actions: Legal entities established in China are not eligible to participate in any Horizon Europe Innovation Action; (2) Research and Innovation Actions: Unless otherwise stated, legal entities established in China are not eligible to participate in any Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Action (RIA).

Source: General Annexes, page 6

The Annex then lists the destinations where entities established in China are eligible for Research and Innovation Actions, across Cluster 2, Cluster 5, Cluster 6, Missions, the Widening participation part, the New European Bauhaus Facility and Horizontal Activities (pages 6 and 7). Where the bar applies it covers participation in any capacity, including as affiliated entity, associated partner, subcontractor or recipient of financial support to third parties, and exceptions may be granted case by case for justified reasons (General Annexes, page 7). Chinese universities that are public bodies administered by or under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology are not eligible to participate in any action under any part of the Work Programme (page 7).

Country-level bars of the same kind, independent of any topic, apply to entities established in Russia, Belarus or non-government controlled territories of Ukraine, and to entities outside Russia whose proprietary rights are more than half owned from Russia (General Annexes, page 10).

When a topic opens a country the Annex does not list

The Annex allows it, and the topic is where it happens. The mechanism is the same clause that handles every country outside the default groups.

Legal entities which are established in countries not listed above will be eligible for funding if provided for in the specific call/topic conditions, or if their participation is considered essential for implementing the action by the granting authority.

Source: General Annexes, page 12

The United States is the clearest current case. It is not an associated country and is not in the low- and middle-income list, so it is not eligible for funding by default. Yet HORIZON-HLTH-2027-01-DISEASE-06 states:

In recognition of the opening of the US National Institutes of Health’s programmes to European researchers, any legal entity established in the United States of America is eligible to receive Union funding.

Source: topic conditions, HORIZON-HLTH-2027-01-DISEASE-06

The United States is not mentioned anywhere in General Annex B. That is the point worth carrying away: the Annex sets the default and the topic can move it in either direction, so a country that looks ineligible programme-wide can be fully fundable in a particular topic. The opposite of the restriction case, through the same door.

Euratom topics are a separate programme with a separate country list

They sit on the same Portal and use the same wording, but Euratom is a separate programme. Its topics draw on the countries associated to the Euratom Research and Training Programme, not on the Horizon Europe association list cited throughout this guide, and the topic conditions name them.

HORIZON-EURATOM-2027-01-01 shows how close the language is and how different the result:

In order to achieve the expected outcomes and safeguard the Union’s strategic assets, interests, autonomy and security, participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States and in countries associated to the Euratom Research and Training Programme (Ukraine and Switzerland).

Source: topic conditions, HORIZON-EURATOM-2027-01-01

Set that beside the space topic quoted earlier. Both open with almost the same safeguarding clause and both limit participation to Member States plus a short list. But the space topic draws its list from the Horizon Europe associated countries, while the Euratom topic draws on countries associated to Euratom, which is a different agreement. A partner that is associated for Horizon Europe purposes, such as Canada or the United Kingdom, is not thereby associated for Euratom. The topic identifier beginning HORIZON-EURATOM is the signal to read the country list from the topic, not from General Annex B.

Worked example: reading one topic against General Annex B

Take HORIZON-CL4-2027-04-DATA-03, “New approaches for decentralized, federated and sustainable AI data processing (RIA)”, quoted above, and work through it in the order that catches the restrictions.

1. Read the action type first. It is a Research and Innovation Action. That already engages the Annex's China rule for RIAs, and Cluster 4 is not among the destinations listed as open, so entities established in China are out before the topic text is read at all (pages 6 and 7).
2. Then read the topic's own country list. Member States, Iceland, Norway, Canada, Israel, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom. This replaces the default funding list, so associated countries that are not named here, and the whole low- and middle-income group, are out for this topic.
3. Then look for a control test. This topic has one, in two parts. Entities controlled from outside the eligible countries need guarantees: “entities established in an eligible country listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in the action unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees positively assessed by their eligible country of establishment, that their participation to the action would not negatively impact the Union’s strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security.” For China that route is closed: “Entities established in an eligible country, but which are directly or indirectly controlled by China or by a legal entity established in China cannot submit guarantees.” Country and control are separate hurdles, and clearing one says nothing about the other.
4. Only then check your own partners. A German subsidiary of a non-EU parent passes step two and may still fail step three; a Serbian institute is associated for Horizon Europe generally and still fails step two here.

Done in the other order, the usual mistake appears: the consortium is assembled from the default funding list, the topic's shorter list is read late, and a partner has to be dropped after the work split is already agreed.

What this guide does not cover

Deliberately, so that the citations above stay usable:

• Which open topics currently carry a restriction. That changes as calls are published and closed. The restriction is always stated in the topic's own eligibility conditions, which is the only place it can be read reliably.
• Consortium composition minimums. The requirement for independent legal entities from different Member States or associated countries is a separate condition from country eligibility, set out on page 13.
• Euratom, ERC and EIC specifics. Euratom has its own annexes, as above. The EIC fund exception for the United Kingdom is noted but not explained here.
• Restrictive measures and sanctions lists. The Annex bars entities subject to EU restrictive measures from participating in any capacity (page 10), but the lists themselves live in the Official Journal and are not reproduced here.
• The rule of law measures affecting Hungarian public interest trusts. Those are entity-level, not country-level: Hungary is a Member State and Hungarian entities are eligible for funding. The measures and the September 2026 proposal to lift them are on pages 10 and 11.

Frequently asked questions

Can a company outside the EU apply for Horizon Europe funding?

Yes, if it is established in an associated country, an Overseas Country or Territory, or one of the low- and middle-income countries listed in General Annex B. Outside those groups it can still take part as an associated partner without charging costs, and can be funded where the topic provides for it or the granting authority considers its participation essential (page 12).

Which countries are associated to Horizon Europe?

General Annex B names Albania, Arab Republic of Egypt, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Republic of Korea, Serbia, Switzerland, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine and the United Kingdom (page 11). The Annex adds that the list is correct as at adoption and that the Portal carries the current position, so it should be checked rather than assumed.

What does “participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States” mean for my consortium?

Only entities established in the countries the topic names may take part. The default funding list does not apply, so a partner from an associated country that the topic does not name cannot join, as beneficiary or otherwise. The basis is Article 22(5) and the eligible countries are identified in the topic conditions (page 9).

Can a US company receive Horizon Europe funding?

Not by default, because the United States is neither associated nor on the low- and middle-income list. Individual topics can provide for it, and some do: HORIZON-HLTH-2027-01-DISEASE-06 states that any legal entity established in the United States is eligible to receive Union funding.

Are Chinese companies banned from Horizon Europe?

Not from the whole programme, but the bar is wide. Entities established in China are not eligible for any Innovation Action, and not for Research and Innovation Actions unless the destination is one of those the Annex lists as open (pages 6 and 7). Separately, entities established elsewhere but controlled from China can be excluded by topics in critical technology areas (page 10).

Where do I find the country restriction for a specific topic?

In the topic's own eligibility conditions on the Funding and Tenders Portal, under the heading for other eligibility conditions. If nothing is stated there, the General Annexes rules apply unchanged, which still includes the China and restrictive measures bars that no topic has to repeat.

Related guides

• Are subcontractor costs eligible under Horizon Europe?
• Which open science practices are mandatory in Horizon Europe, and which only score points?
• What funding calls actually state about eligibility
• Is your company still an SME if an investor owns 30 percent of it?

Primary source: Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027 — 15. General Annexes (PDF, adopted 2026). Page references in this guide point to that PDF. Topic conditions quoted verbatim are from the European Commission Funding and Tenders Portal and were read there on 28 October 2026: HORIZON-CL3-2027-01-BM-01 (forthcoming), HORIZON-CL3-2026-01-FCT-03 (open), HORIZON-CL4-2027-04-DATA-03 (forthcoming), HORIZON-CL4-2027-SPACE-03-21 (forthcoming), HORIZON-EURATOM-2027-01-01 (open), HORIZON-HLTH-2027-01-DISEASE-06 (forthcoming). Topic status and the country lists in topic conditions change as calls are published; the Annex sets the default and the topic page is the binding statement for that topic.

Written by Robert Grabarević, founder of Scalebiz. He built the radar as a tool for himself, so that he would not have to re-read the same funding rules for every application. Every guide on this site cites the regulation by section or page, so each claim can be checked against the source. About Scalebiz · Robert on LinkedIn.