The European Union and Ukraine are taking another step to further widen their mutually beneficial cooperation in science and research. On 27th of June 2016, they concluded an agreement on the association of Ukraine to the Euratom Research and Training Programme. The agreement was signed in Brussels by Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, and Pavlo Klimkin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. The signing took place in the presence of Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine.
Commissioner Moedas said: "Ukraine's great research and innovation potential offers promising partnerships for Europe. Ukraine will now have access to the full spectrum of Euratom activities. I hope Ukraine will make the most of these opportunities, conducting research for a prosperous future."
The new agreement comes one year after Ukraine joined Horizon 2020, the EU's research and innovation programme. While Horizon 2020 covers a wide range of activities from fundamental research up to close-to-market activities, the Euratom Research and Training Programme is specifically aimed at improving the levels of nuclear safety and radiation protection.
The association agreement will still need to be ratified by the Ukrainian Parliament. Nevertheless, Ukrainian legal entities will be able to already participate in the Euratom call for proposals funded under the 2016 and 2017 budget, as this association covers the period 2014-2018.
The European Union and Ukraine will both benefit from widening opportunities for science and research cooperation by developing new partnerships and new scientific ideas.
Background:
The current five-year Euratom Research and Training Programme, running from 2014 until 2018, complements Horizon 2020, the EU's €77 billion research and innovation programme (2014-2020). The budget for the three remaining years (2016-2018) for direct and indirect actions in fission and fusion is €872.5 million. Ukraine was also associated to the previous Euratom research programmes between 2007 and 2013.
