European Partnerships

European Partnerships

European Partnerships create a platform for strengthened and structured collaboration and knowledge exchange between various actors in the European R&I system and enhanced coordination of strategic research agendas and/or R&I funding programmes. They are based on agreed objectives and a long-term vision, underpinned by Strategic Research and Innovation Agendas (SRIAs) to which all partners in the partnership commit. This is a key feature that distinguishes European Partnerships from other collaborative research instruments. Partnerships also enhance cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral collaboration and integration of value chains and ecosystems, improving integration of sectoral R&I policies, notably through more systematic and extended reach and engagement of stakeholders such as end-users and public authorities.

In Horizon Europe, there are three different implementation modes for European Partnerships.

Co-funded

  • Co-funding of joint programmes of R&I activities between R&I funders. They are based on a Horizon Europe Grant Agreement signed by the Commission and a consortium of partners, generally composed of R&I funders and other public authorities. 

Institutionalised partnerships

  • Joint Undertakings (JUs): long-term collaborations with private (sometimes also public) partners requiring a high degree of integration. 
  • Article 185 initiatives: long-term collaborations with public partners requiring a high degree of integration. 
  • European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) – Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs): Europe-wide innovation ecosystems that integrate education, research and entrepreneurship. They are established in compliance with the EIT regulation and the EIT strategic Innovation Agenda.

Co-programmed

  • Joint programming of R&I activities and mobilisation of additional activities by partners in line with the objectives of the partnership. They are based on a Memorandum of Understanding, generally with industry associations. The EU contribution is implemented through the Horizon Europe mechanisms (work programmes and their calls for proposals), and matching partners’ contributions are implemented under their responsibility.

The main differences between these forms of European Partnership are in their preparation and how they function, as well as in the overall impact they can trigger. The Co-funded and Co-programmed Partnerships are linked to the strategic plan and the Horizon Europe work programmes. Article 185 and JU Institutionalised Partnerships require the adoption of separate legislation and are subject to an ex-ante impact assessment. 

European Partnerships are established only if there is evidence that they will support the achievement of EU policy objectives more effectively than other Horizon Europe actions.

The Horizon Europe strategic plan 2025-2027 includes a list of new candidate Co-Funded and Co-programmed European Partnerships to be launched during the second half of Horizon Europe.

 

Participation of Spain

Spain currently participates in all of the European Partnerships, demonstrating the country’s global interest and commitment in all thematic areas. Spain's participation is carried out through different national (AEI, CEDTI, ISCIII, etc.) and regional funding agencies (Innobasque, SPRI, etc.) depending on the thematic area.

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Source: European Commission

European Partnership's projects

CEBBEC: Controlar las correlaciones de EPR y BELL en condensados de Bose-Einstein

Specific programme: QuantERA ERA-NET Cofund in Quantum Technologies
UPV/EHU Partner Status: Beneficiary
UPV/EHU PI: Geza Toth
Project start: 01/05/2018
Project end:   30/04/2021

Brief description:   Our purpose is both to gain a deeper understanding of quantum information in many body systems as well as to develop practical approaches for manipulating and exploiting it. The main targets are (i) to take advantage of this type of quantum correlation, (ii) to implement device-independent entanglement witnesses, (iii) to explore fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics, and (iv) to realize proof-of-principle implementations of quantum information and quantum measurement protocols with atomic many-body systems. Atomic interactions in BEC's constitute a non-linearity highly analogous to four-wave mixing or parametric down-conversion in optics, and hence can create strong entanglement. Two separate lines of research have been pursued in the past; on the one hand, one can use the spin degrees of freedom of an atom to produce atom pairs whose spins are entangled, and on the other hand one can entangle the motional degrees of freedom in a spirit close to that of the original EPR proposal. In the CEBBEC project, these two lines of research will be brought together in both the technological sense (using one kind of entanglement to make another) and conceptual one (for example studying complex situations in which both spin and motion are entangled) giving rise to new possibilities for applications and new theoretical challenges.