Horizon Europe makes €14 billion available for researchers in the EU and associated countries
Since 2025, the UK also has widened access to Horizon Europe, including in sensitive areas linked to quantum, space, AI, robotics and connected collaborative computing.
This €14 billion investment will go towards projects achieving climate neutrality, boosting the use of artificial intelligence in research and innovation, and ensuring resilience in a rapidly changing world.
To achieve this, the programme introduces new cross-disciplinary calls and topics. 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. 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.
As part of these calls, the New European Bauhaus Facility 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 to the EU and countries associated to Horizon Europe, is a key feature of this work programme. It allocates €50 million to the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions for long-term fellowships, postdoctoral stability and relocation incentives, ensuring researchers can pursue impactful careers in Europe.
This work programme will also ensure continued access to critical research infrastructure and data, while supporting startups.
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 but larger projects to maximise impact.
Key simplification measures include lump-sum funding for half of the call budget, which reduces administrative burden for participants. The programme features newcomer-friendly and small and medium-sized enterprises-focused topics to lower barriers for new applicants and small enterprises. Additionally, 41 call topics will use a two-stage evaluation process, allowing applicants to submit a short proposal first, with full proposals requested only if successful. This approach, combined with anonymised evaluations in certain cases and streamlined proposal templates, aims to reduce bias and shorten the time to grant.
The UK’s association to Horizon Europe has considerably strengthened the EU-UK partnership in the research and innovation sector. In 2024, the UK was by far the biggest beneficiary of Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions (MSCA), with 773 participations representing an EU net contribution of €175.5 million or 17.1% of the total. It was also the second biggest beneficiary of European Research Council (ERC) grants, behind Germany, with 162 participations representing an EU net contribution of €306 million or 14.6% of the total.
Looking at 2025, many calls are still open or undergoing evaluation and it is too early to draw conclusions, but initial data shows a strong performance for UK-based researchers and organisations, notably in certain pillars . The UK has continued to perform particularly well in the European Research Council (ERC) calls. It was the top beneficiary of the ERC’s Consolidator grants announced on 9 December 2025. The UK was also by far the biggest beneficiary of the ERC’s latest round of Advanced Grants announced in June 2025.
More information about the 2026-2027 work programme can be found in this press release.
