Switzerland officially joins European research and innovation programmes

On 10 November 2025, the EU Programmes Agreement (EUPA) between Switzerland and the European Union was signed in Bern, marking a historic milestone in cooperation in education, research, and innovation.

The EUPA is part of the Switzerland-EU package and sets out the rules for Switzerland's participation in European Union programmes. Although the agreement will be signed before the overall Switzerland-EU package, it will still be considered part of it.

With the signing of the agreement, Switzerland's participation in the Horizon Europe, Euratom, and Digital Europe Programme (DEP) is officially confirmed, effective from 1 January 2025.

In concrete terms:

• proposals submitted during 2025 and future proposals, if approved, will be funded directly by the European Commission;
• researchers based in Switzerland will be able to continue to participate on a stable basis in the prestigious European Research Council (ERC) calls for proposals and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) opportunities, to which they had been given provisional access thanks to the activation of the transitional agreement;
• Swiss institutions will be able to act as coordinators in consortium projects.

From 1 January 2026, Switzerland will also participate in research under the ITER project. Additionally, from 2027, it will be possible to join the Erasmus+ programme, subject to the Swiss Parliament's approval of the relevant funding package.

"The signing of EUPA represents a decisive step towards strengthening cooperation between Switzerland and the European Union in the fields of education, research and innovation," said the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI). "This partnership will offer new opportunities for collaboration in networks of international excellence and will help consolidate Europe's position as a global leader in knowledge."