The European Commission has adopted the main Horizon Europe work programme for 2026-2027, with a budget of EUR 14 billion to drive research and innovation across the EU’s strategic goals.
Horizon Europe is the EU’s €93.5 billion research and innovation programme running from 2021 to 2027. Most funding is allocated through competitive calls for proposals, set out in work programmes, which outline the objectives and specific topic areas. The work programme also includes rules such as the standard admissibility conditions and eligibility, selection and award criteria.
The new goals include achieving climate neutrality, boosting the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in research and innovation, and ensuring resilience in a rapidly changing world.
The programme introduces new cross-disciplinary calls and topics that will boost decarbonisation and the use of AI in research. It also expands the ‘Choose Europe’ initiative to attract global talent and makes applying for Horizon Europe funding and participation simpler.
New to the 2026-2027 work programme are horizontal calls, which address cross-cutting challenges across different research and innovation areas.
One such call, R&I in support of the Clean Industrial Deal, allocates €540 million to accelerate the market deployment of cutting-edge clean technologies and decarbonised industry solutions. It adopts a bottom-up, industry-led approach, focusing on decarbonisation of energy-intensive industries and clean technologies for climate action. The call on AI in science, with a budget of €90 million, supports trustworthy AI applications in sectors such as advanced materials, agriculture and healthcare. It contributes to the Resource for AI Science in Europe initiative, aligns with Europe’s digital transition goals and strengthens the continent’s leadership in safe, ethical AI development.
In addition to the horizontal calls, the New European Bauhaus Facility will contribute to addressing cross-cutting challenges. It will allocate over €210 million in 2026-2027 to revitalise neighbourhoods through design for sustainability and inclusion.
The Choose Europe initiative, designed to attract global talent, is a key feature of this work programme. It allocates €50 million to the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions for long-term fellowships, postdoctoral stability and relocation incentives, ensuring researchers can pursue impactful careers in Europe. The programme invests €50 million in Research Infrastructures to improve transnational access and training, while the European Research Area Chairs component provides €240 million to attract top scientists to underperforming regions. The European Innovation Ecosystems part supports startups and scaleups through initiatives like the European Startup and Scaleup Hubs, which create a transnational network of innovation hubs rooted in research and higher education systems. This work programme will also ensure continued access to critical research infrastructure and data.
Finally, major simplification measures will reduce administrative burden on applicants and facilitate participation. The work programme is less prescriptive and 33% shorter than the 2023–2024 edition. It focuses on fewer, larger projects to maximise impact.
