As part of the next long-term EU budget 2028-2034, the Commission is proposing to double the budget of the research and innovation framework programme to €175 billion. The new Horizon Europe will boost Europe’s competitiveness and fund solutions to real-world challenges, from AI that supports doctors, to satellites that protect farmers, to cleaner, smarter ways to move, live, and work.
Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, said:
“You spoke, we listened. As one of Europe’s strongest brands, Horizon Europe will place research and innovation at the heart of the EU economy and investment strategy. We will attract and retain talents through ‘Choose Europe’, de-risk and mobilise private research and innovation financing, empowering innovative startups and work together with Member States to reach the 3% investment target.”
The programme will build on the achievements and successes of the current research and innovation programme that runs from 2021 to 2027.
Programme structure
The new programme will be based on four pillars, and it will support cutting-edge research, and innovation, attract and nurture research talent, foster international collaboration, and connect science with society.
- Pillar I ‘Excellent Science’ aims to strengthen the EU’s scientific base, attract top talent and promote excellent research in Europe. It covers the European Research Council (ERC), Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and science for EU policies through the Joint Research Centre. The ERC will be expanded to increase its ability to support frontier research, with a focus on funding excellent researchers and their teams following a ‘Choose Europe’ approach.
- Pillar II ‘Competitiveness and Society’ aims to support collaborative research and innovation in areas of high societal impact. It targets EU competitiveness in areas like the clean transition, digital leadership, defence, industry and space, in close cooperation with the European Competitiveness Fund. It will also address global societal challenges and features EU missions, as well as the New European Bauhaus Facility.
- Pillar III ‘Innovation’ aims to support innovation in Europe, with a focus on promoting the development of new products, services and business models. The European Innovation Council (EIC) will be expanded to fund high-risk disruptive projects in stages and will introduce a focus for defence and dual-use startups.
- Pillar IV ‘European Research Area’ aims to support the development of a unified European Research Area (ERA), with a focus on promoting excellence and impact, including a reformed widening component. As a novelty, it also supports the development and operation of research and technology infrastructures.
Programme implementation will be streamlined.This includes offering simplified support, reducing the number of topics, and shortening the time from call closure to grant signature.
Moonshot projects
Additionally, Horizon Europe, tightly connected to the European Competitiveness Fund, will have the capacity to develop ‘moonshot projects’. These projects would move from research to demonstration and real-world deployment. They would be supported by pooled funding from EU (Horizon Europe and the European Competitiveness Fund), national, public, and private sources.
Designed to position Europe as a global leader in strategic fields, these moonshot projects would drive progress in areas such as:
- the future circular collider
- clean aviation
- quantum computing
- next-generation AI
- data sovereignty
- automated transport and mobility
- regenerative therapies
- fusion energy
- space economy
- zero water pollution and
- ocean observation
Next steps
Interinstitutional negotiations between the European Parliament, Council and Commission will now take place.
Background
Over the previous year, several high-level reports were published on research and innovation in Europe. Mario Draghi’s Report on the Future of European Competitiveness underscored the importance of embedding R&I at the core of the EU’s economy to drive sustainable growth. Enrico Letta’s report ‘Much More than a Market’ advocated for a ‘fifth freedom’ – free movement of knowledge – to enhance research, innovation and education in the single market. The report of the independent expert group, chaired by Manuel Heitor, on Horizon Europe’s interim evaluation, ‘Align, Act, Accelerate’, gave recommendations for making the programme more effective at aligning R&I with Europe’s strategic goals.
Horizon Europe’s interim evaluation has shown that the programme delivers major societal and economic benefits. Every euro of EU contribution is estimated to generate up to €11 in GDP gains by 2045. As of January 2025, Horizon Europe has funded over 15,000 projects with a combined budget of more than €43 billion.
More information
Factsheet: Horizon Europe 2028 – 2034
Framework programme evaluations
- Horizon Europe interim evaluation
- Horizon 2020 ex-post evaluation
Proposed EU-long term budget in general
Presentation: EU long-term budget 2028-2034 - Moonshot examples
Press contact:
Details
- Publication date
- 16 July 2025
- Author
- Directorate-General for Research and Innovation