Tunisia is to be awarded associated country status in Horizon 2020, allowing researchers to apply for any grants in the €77 billion research programme.
The upgrade, “shows that through research and innovation, the EU is supporting the young Tunisian democracy and helping to invest in knowledge as a foundation of future development," said Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research .
Until now, Tunisia had third country status, meaning that its researchers there were excluded from parts of the programme. The change puts the country on par with 13 other non-EU countries including Iceland, Norway, Turkey and Ukraine.
The agreement covers the years 2016-2020 and will still need to be ratified by the Tunisian Parliament.
In Framework Programme 7, the predecessor to Horizon 2020, 103 Tunisians participated in a total of 88 proposals, most of them in food security and sustainable agriculture.
In Horizon 2020, Tunisia is only involved in one signed agreement, but there are 12 Tunisians involved in 10 projects that are awaiting final grant approval.
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