On 15 November 2022, European Commission’s Acting Director General (DG) for Research and Innovation, Ms Ratso, addressed remotely the members of the EU-Japan Business Round Table gathered in Tokyo. 
Ms Ratso acknowledged the already good EU-Japan cooperation in the field of science, research and innovation, and recalled the importance of the EU-Japan Green Alliance and Digital Partnership, which will act as platforms to press jointly to accelerate the twin green and digital transitions. The fundamental role played by the private, industrial sector in fostering the transformative processes needed to make our societies more resilient, sustainable and fairer was also highlighted. 

Ms Ratso encouraged even greater cooperation by stressing that the EU Framework Programme Horizon Europe is a fully operational and structured cooperative platform offering opportunities for research collaboration and joint innovation activities. In its course, Horizon Europe will invest possibly more than EUR 100 billion into fundamental and applied research, and into break-through solutions addressing the most worrying global challenges.

In this context, Acting DG Ratso explained the benefits deriving from a possible association of Japan to the Horizon Europe Programme, a move that will represent a major leap forward in the overall research and innovation (R&I) cooperation between the two powerhouses. An association of Japan to Horizon Europe will strengthen Japan’s scientific and technological leadership by acting as a multiplier, with expected positive impacts on national R&I indicators in terms of international co-publications, commercial and IP outputs, and more tangible impact of the overall national public and private investment in R&I.

She concluded by inviting all the companies attending the event to consult open and upcoming calls for proposals under Horizon Europe. The Work Programmes for the years 2023 and 2024 will soon be published and the opportunities are really vast and cover the most strategic sectors, such as: health, climate and environmental research, ICT, High Performance Computing, clean hydrogen and renewable energy, circular economy, semi-conductors, connected and automated mobility, aviation, photonics, and critical raw materials.

For more information about Horizon Europe please visit below websites.
https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe_en 
https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/programmes/horizon