What is Horizon Europe?

Horizon Europe is the EU’s flagship programme for research and innovation, running until 2027 with an indicative budget of €93.5 billion. It builds on the success of Horizon 2020 and remains one of the most ambitious funding schemes in the world.

The programme addresses major global challenges, from tackling climate change and supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to boosting Europe’s competitiveness and growth. It fosters cross-border collaboration, strengthens industrial leadership, and helps transform excellent research into market-ready solutions. Legal entities from the EU and associated countries are eligible to participate.

Missions

Horizon Europe is structured around five ambitious missions, each designed to deliver measurable impact by 2030. These missions focus on adapting Europe to climate change, supporting 100 climate-neutral and smart cities, improving cancer prevention and treatment, ensuring healthy soils across the continent, and restoring marine and freshwater ecosystems. Together, they give the programme a clear direction and a powerful ability to mobilise research towards pressing societal needs.

Deadlines

Horizon Europe is an umbrella programme that includes numerous calls. To have an overview of all the calls available, go to the Horizon Funding and Tender Portal.

Structure of the Programme

Horizon Europe is a very complex programme with numerous calls throughout the year. Overall, the programme is divided into three pillars:

3 pillars of Horizon Europe

The programme is organised into three main pillars.

1. Excellent Science supports world-class research through initiatives like the European Research Council and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions.
2. Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness funds research and innovation in areas such as health, digitalisation, mobility, climate, energy, and food systems, with the aim of strengthening Europe’s industrial base and resilience.
3. Innovative Europe drives breakthrough technologies and market-creating innovations, led by the European Innovation Council, while also nurturing innovation ecosystems and supporting the European Institute of Innovation and Technology.

A cross-cutting strand ensures that Horizon Europe also contributes to spreading excellence and strengthening the European Research Area, making the programme more inclusive and impactful across all regions of Europe.

European Partnerships

Another key element of Horizon Europe is the support for partnerships between the EU, national authorities, and industry. These collaborations pool resources to tackle complex challenges and accelerate progress in strategic areas such as climate, energy, mobility, digitalisation, and health.

Looking Ahead

On 16 July 2025, the European Commission proposed the next research and innovation framework for 2028-2034, with a planned budget of €175 billion. This future programme will build on Horizon Europe’s achievements while introducing large-scale “moonshot” initiatives in areas like clean aviation, the space economy, and next-generation artificial intelligence.

1st Mile and Horizon Europe

Given the hundreds of calls, large size and complexity of this program, please contact us, if you are interested in any of the many other programmes within the Horizon Europe umbrella.