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Research and innovation

Horizon Europe

Research and innovation funding programme until 2027. How to get funding, programme structure, missions, European partnerships, news and events. 

What is Horizon Europe?

Horizon Europe is the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation with a budget of €95.5 billion.

It tackles climate change, helps to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and boosts the EU’s competitiveness and growth.

The programme facilitates collaboration and strengthens the impact of research and innovation in developing, supporting and implementing EU policies while tackling global challenges. It supports creating and better dispersing of excellent knowledge and technologies.

It creates jobs, fully engages the EU’s talent pool, boosts economic growth, promotes industrial competitiveness and optimises investment impact within a strengthened European Research Area.

Legal entities from the EU and associated countries can participate.

New elements in Horizon Europe

  • European Innovation Council: Support for innovations with potential breakthrough and disruptive nature with scale-up potential that may be too risky for private investors. This is 70% of the budget earmarked for SMEs.
  • Missions: Sets of measures to achieve bold, inspirational and measurable goals within a set timeframe. There are 5 main mission areas as part of Horizon Europe.
  • Open science policy: Mandatory open access to publications and open science principles are applied throughout the programme
    Factsheet: Open science in Horizon Europe
  • New approach to partnerships: Objective-driven and more ambitious partnerships with industry in support of EU policy objectives

More information

Presentation outlining Horizon Europe in 23 languages

How the Horizon Europe programme was developed

International cooperation in the programme

Apply for funding

All funding information and procedures on how to apply are on the Funding and Tenders portal.

Strategic plan and work programmes

Strategic plan

The content of work programmes for Horizon Europe is prepared by strategic planning and the resultant strategic plan.

Work programmes

Funding opportunities under Horizon Europe are set out in work programmes. Download available work programmes.

Horizon Europe programme structure

Specific programme implementing Horizon Europe and EIT

Exclusive focus on civil applications

Part: Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area

Widening participation and spreading excellence     Reforming and enhancing the European Research and Innovation system

 

Specific programme: European Defence Fund

Exclusive focus on defence research and development

European Defence Fund website

 

Complementary programme: Euratom Research and Training Programme

Focus on nuclear fusion and fission research and training

Euratom Research and Training Programme

Missions

Horizon Europe incorporates research and innovation missions to increase the effectiveness of funding by pursuing clearly defined targets.

The Commission engaged policy experts to develop studies, case studies and reports on how a mission-oriented policy approach will work.

Read more about the mission approach

5 missions have been identified.

European partnerships

Horizon Europe supports European partnerships in which the EU, national authorities and/or the private sector jointly commit to support the development and implementation of a programme of research and innovation activities.

The goal of European partnerships is to contribute to the achievement of EU priorities, address complex challenges outlined in Horizon Europe and strengthen the European Research Area (ERA).

Read more about the different kinds of partnerships

Partnership and contact details are available to view grouped in the themes below.

Programme evaluation, impact assessment and monitoring

The Commission evaluates and monitors its funding programmes to assess the progress towards achieving the programmes' objectives and build an evidence base to improve their implementation.

Horizon Europe programme analysis and outline of the monitoring approach

Documents

20 APRIL 2021
Horizon Europe, the EU research and innovation programme 2021-2027 general overview
English
(338.88 KB - HTML)
Download

15 MARCH 2021
Horizon Europe, participation in Horizon Europe
English
(339.24 KB - HTML)
Download

29 APRIL 2020
Implementation strategy for Horizon Europe
English
(504.95 KB - PDF)
Download

Contact

You can contact the research enquiry service to find out more about research in Europe, the EU's research and innovation funding programmes as well as calls for proposals and project funding.

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