Japan in Horizon Europe: joining a consortium with a Bulgarian partner
Japan is associated to Horizon Europe Pillar II, so Japanese entities can receive EU funding directly. The dates, the scope and the steps to a consortium.
Japanese universities, research institutes and companies can now take part in Horizon Europe's collaborative Pillar II projects on the same footing as partners from associated countries. Here is what changed, what did not, and how to build a consortium with a Bulgarian partner.
The dates. The EU and Japan concluded negotiations on 22 December 2025. The Government of Japan signed the association agreement in Brussels on 30 July 2026. The agreement applies provisionally from 1 January 2026, pending the procedures for its entry into force, so Japanese entities have been able to apply to calls funded from the EU budget for 2026 onwards since January 2026.
What association means. Japan is associated to Pillar II, "Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness", which has a budget of EUR 52.4 billion. In Pillar II calls, Japanese entities are treated as entities from an associated country: they can join or coordinate a consortium and receive funding directly from the programme. Japan pays a financial contribution into the programme in return.
What it does not cover. Association is limited to Pillar II. For Pillar I (Excellent Science, including the ERC and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions) and Pillar III (Innovative Europe, including the EIC), the conditions for Japanese participation are unchanged. Individual calls can also set limits: for actions linked to the EU's strategic assets, interests, autonomy or security, a work programme may restrict participation to entities from Member States or from specified countries.
Building the consortium. Unless the work programme provides otherwise, a consortium needs at least one independent legal entity established in a Member State and at least two other independent legal entities, each established in a different Member State or associated country. A Bulgarian partner meets the first condition; a Japanese partner counts towards the second. The minimum is therefore a Bulgarian entity, a Japanese entity and one more from another Member State or associated country.
Practical steps.
1. Find the topic on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and read its eligibility conditions. 2. Check that every partner has a Participant Identification Code (PIC), a nine-digit number from the Participant Register. All participants must be registered before the proposal is submitted. 3. In Japan, the domestic guidelines of 30 July 2026 ask applicants to register with the National Contact Point, the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation, and to record the application in e-Rad with a letter of consent from their institution.
This article is general information; the call text and official guidance prevail.
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