Explanation:

Participants from European Union member states and countries associated to Horizon 2020 are automatically funded. Legal entities from any country are eligible to submit project proposals to these calls. Participation from outside the European Union is explicitly encouraged. Associated countries have signed an association agreement for the purposes of this framework programme. To date, 14 countries are associated to Horizon 2020. Horizon 2020 itself is seen as a policy instrument to implement other high-level policy initiatives of the European Union, such as Europe 2020 and Innovation Union. The programme runs from 2014–20 and provides an estimated €80 billion of funding.