The upcoming competition for ERC Proof of Concept Grants will be open to principal investigators based in Swiss entities who have an ERC main grant that is ongoing or that ended after 1 January 2024.

The European Commission’s decision on eligibility for this call for proposals has been taken in the context of the ongoing negotiations between the EU and Switzerland. The talks cover a broad package of measures, which includes Switzerland’s association to EU programmes such as Horizon Europe. The decision goes beyond what the Commission committed to in the Common Understanding and is a clear sign of goodwill in the negotiation process.

These transitional arrangements will allow for Swiss legal entities to be treated as ´entities established in Associated Countries´ for the ERC Proof of Concept Grants call under  the ERC work programme 2025.

As announced in March and July 2024, the transitional arrangements already apply to the Advanced Grant call under the ERC work programme 2024 as well as the Starting, Consolidator, and Synergy Grants calls under the ERC work programme 2025. However, grant agreements for any of the above calls may be signed only if the association agreement with Switzerland is in force at that time.