EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities of the Call "Support for R&I policy making in the EU enlargement countries" (HORIZON-WIDERA-2025-04-ACCESS-01)

1. Gateway to the EU Single Market (450+ million consumers)

• Faster regulatory convergence – Projects help enlargement countries align R&I-relevant legislation with the EU acquis, accelerating future access to the single market for innovative products and services.

• Early market testing – Demonstrations and pilot actions carried out under the action can be rolled out simultaneously in multiple enlargement countries and EU Member States, giving innovators an immediate pan-European reference base.

• Investor confidence – Association with Horizon Europe’s strict evaluation, IP and gender-equality standards de-risks projects, making them more attractive for private co-investment under InvestEU and EIB instruments.

2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange

• Pan-European consortia – Mandatory multi-country composition facilitates partnerships among universities, RTOs, clusters and SMEs across all EU-27 + 10 enlargement countries.

• Living policy labs – Joint foresight exercises and policy pilots allow ministries to co-design evidence-based reforms, share datasets and benchmark KPIs in real time.

• People-to-people mobility – Cascading grants (≤ €60 000) can sponsor staff exchanges, twin labs and innovation fellowships, directly linking human capital pools.

3. Alignment with Flagship EU Policies

• European Green Deal – Funded actions can mainstream circular-economy and climate-neutral objectives in new Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) of enlargement countries.

• Digital Europe & Digital Education Action Plan – Supports widespread deployment of advanced digital skills, AI sandboxes and open-science cloud adoption.

• New European Innovation Agenda (NEIA) – By closing the Innovation Scoreboard gap, projects contribute to Flagship 3 (Integrated Deep-Tech Valleys) and Flagship 4 (Talent Development).

• Western Balkans & Moldova/Ukraine Growth Plans – The call is explicitly referenced, enabling immediate policy synergies and coherence with macro-financial assistance.

4. Regulatory Harmonisation Benefits

• One-stop policy interface – The envisaged coordination platform synchronises Horizon Europe, IPA III, ERDF, Erasmus+, Digital Europe and Creative Europe rules, reducing administrative burden for multi-fund projects.

• Standards uptake – Alignment with CEN/CENELEC and ETSI standards accelerates certification of new technologies originating from enlargement countries.

• Gender equality & open science compliance – Uniform Horizon Europe requirements encourage institution-wide reforms that will later be compulsory under full EU membership.

5. Access to Europe’s Innovation Ecosystem

• ERA & EIT gateways – Participation unlocks memberships in ESFRI research infrastructures, EIT KICs and Enterprise Europe Network nodes, giving immediate visibility to > 25 000 EU innovation actors.

• Technology transfer upgrading – Hands-on mentoring from established EU TTOs can be financed, resulting in IP portfolios ready for pan-European licensing or spin-outs.

• Cluster internationalisation – Enlargement clusters gain access to the European Cluster Collaboration Platform, boosting SME scale-up potential.

6. Funding Synergies & Leverage Potential

• Structural Funds (2028+) – Evidence generated feeds into future ERDF Operational Programmes, ensuring structural follow-up financing.

• IPA III & NDICI-Global Europe – Joint work programmes allow blending of Horizon CSA grants with pre-accession funds for infrastructure or pilot plants.

• EIC & MSCA pipelines – Successful pilots can mature into EIC Pathfinder/Transition or MSCA Staff Exchange proposals, multiplying overall EU funding.

• InvestEU & national recovery plans – Mature innovation portfolios can attract guarantee facilities for large-scale deployment.

7. Scale & Impact at EU Level

• Portfolio approach – The call explicitly invites the design of complementary regional innovation actions; results can therefore cascade to 35+ ERA countries.

• Macroeconomic uplift – Even a 1 % increase in the Innovation Scoreboard score across the ten countries translates into €2–3 bn additional GDP, benefitting the entire single market through supply-chain integration.

• Geopolitical stability – Stronger R&I ties reinforce EU strategic autonomy, particularly in critical raw materials, health, and digital resilience corridors that cross enlargement territories.

8. Unique Strategic Value vs. National-Only Initiatives

1. Economies of scale – Shared service platforms (IP helpdesks, S3 observatories, open-access testbeds) avoid duplication across ten small-to-mid-size R&I systems.

2. Policy coherence – Joint roadmaps reduce fragmentation and ensure that EU-level objectives (twin transition, open strategic autonomy) are embedded early.

3. Market signalling – A unified, Horizon-branded initiative sends a strong message to global investors about the region’s commitment to EU standards.

4. Risk diversification – Multi-country consortia distribute scientific, regulatory and financial risks, increasing overall project resilience.

9. Actionable EU-Wide Opportunities for Proposers

• Establish a Regional Policy & Foresight Hub linking ministries and JRC for evidence-based reforms.

• Launch Cascading Grant Schemes (≤ €60 k) for SME-academia proof-of-concepts aligned with Green Deal missions.

• Set up a Digital Twin Sandbox Network to fast-track AI/IoT solutions under common EU ethics & data-governance standards.

• Create an Innovation Scoreboard Booster Programme providing tailored mentoring to lift KPI scores ahead of 2027 benchmark.

• Pilot a Smart Specialisation Matchmaking Marketplace connecting S3 priority domains across enlargement and EU regions.

10. Quick-Reference Checklist for Maximising EU Advantage

✔ Coordinator from a Widening country to fulfil eligibility and showcase regional leadership.

✔ Allocate ≥ 50 % budget to Widening beneficiaries while embedding at least 3 EU-27 excellence partners.

✔ Design clear synergies with Green Deal, Digital Europe, EIT KICs and InvestEU in Part B, Section 2.2.

✔ Include a robust plan for cascading grants to widen the beneficiary base and achieve rapid, visible impact.

✔ Integrate ERA KPIs, gender-equality plans and open-science practices from day 1 to future-proof the initiative.

Bottom line: Operating at EU scale through this Horizon CSA offers unmatched leverage—legal, financial, scientific and reputational—that no purely national programme can replicate. It accelerates convergence of enlargement countries with the European Research & Innovation Area while simultaneously expanding the EU’s strategic depth, competitiveness and resilience.