Horizon Europe: Kosovo’s race for grants

Insufficient support and researcher apathy are stymieing a promising start in the EU’s funding programme

Back in August 2021, Research Professional News revealed that Kosovo had become the first non-EU country to agree a deal on associating to the bloc’s €95.5 billion research and innovation programme Horizon Europe. As of 2019, the Western Balkans country has six public and 15 private higher education institutions accredited, serving a population of less than two million, all crammed into 11,000km2.

The speedy talks marked the first time that Kosovo had associated to an EU R&I programme. Since the deal came into effect in March last year, researchers in Kosovo have been able to access EU grants and lead collaborations across the seven-year programme, as well as enjoy association perks such as extra advice for scientists who want to take part in funding calls, and training on how to take advantage of the resources available to them.