Horizon Europe is the European Union’s Research & Innovation Investment Programme for 7 years (2021 to 2027), also referred to as the 9th Framework Programme (FP 9). It is the EU’s flagship programme to support research and innovation (R&I) all the way from fundamental concept to market uptake. It builds synergies with national and regional funding. Horizon Europe has a budget of €80.9 BEUR (in 2018 prices), of which €5 BEUR come from the Next Generation EU programme.
Horizon Europe is organised around three pillars:
- Pillar 1 – Excellent Science
- Pillar 2 – Global challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness
- Pillar 3 – Innovative Europe
The three pillars will be underpinned by activities aimed at Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area. This includes, in particular, sharing excellence to fully exploit the potential in less R&I-performing countries so that they attain high Union standards of excellence; and reforming and enhancing the European R&I system. The Horizon Europe Pillar structure is complemented by partnerships and missions.
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
