Europe’s budget : Horizon Europe (2028-2034).
Date: 2025-08-22
Institutions: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
Subjects: EU investment, Framework Programme for Research and Development, competitiveness, innovation, productivity, research and development, research budget, strategic autonomy

EUROPE’S BUDGET

HORIZON EUROPE (2028-2034) 

J U L Y   2 0 2 5

Horizon Europe (2028-2034) will build on the achievements of its predecessors, scaling what 
works, simplifying what is possible, and focusing investment where Europe needs it most. It will 
be tightly connected to the European Competitiveness Fund.

Why is this a priority? 
Horizon Europe (2028-2034) will boost Europe’s productivity and competitiveness, while also improving the well-
being of millions of people across the continent.

What is the Commission proposing?
With a proposed €175 billion budget, the new programme will be based on four pillars.

Pillar I

EXCELLENT
SCIENCE

Pillar II

COMPETITIVENESS 
AND SOCIETY

Pillar III

INNOVATION

Pillar IV

EUROPEAN 
RESEARCH AREA

€44.079 BILLION

€75.876 BILLION

€38.785 BILLION

€16.262 BILLION

EUROPEAN INNOVATION 
COUNCIL

INNOVATION ECOSYSTEMS 
AND THE KNOWLEDGE 
TRIANGLE

ERA POLICIES

RESEARCH AND 
TECHNOLOGY 
INFRASTRUCTURES

WIDENING PARTICIPATION 
AND SPREADING 
EXCELLENCE

EUROPEAN RESEARCH 
COUNCIL

MARIE SKŁODOWSKA-
CURIE ACTIONS

SCIENCE FOR EU POLICIES

COMPETITIVENESS1 : 
1.  Clean Transition and 

Industrial Decarbonisation

2.  Health, Biotech, 
Agriculture and 
Bioeconomy

3.  Digital leadership
4.  Resilience and Security, 
Defence Industry and 
Space

SOCIETY: 
1. Global societal challenges
2. EU Missions
3.  New European Bauhaus 

Facility

1 Consistent with activities under the European Competitiveness Fund

How will the budget make a difference in this area?

 ▶ Simpler, faster access 

•  Less red tape with shorter work programmes, open-
topic calls by default, and unified funding rates
•  Speedier grants, reducing time between application 

and funding

•  Simplified costs with lump-sum funding options for 

easier budgeting

 ▶ Strengthened European Research Council

•  Funds frontier research by excellent researchers
•  Promotes Choose Europe

 ▶ Expanded European Innovation Council to 

boost innovation

•  Supports deep tech startups in sectors like quantum, 

biotech, clean tech 

•  Offers agile funding for innovative projects
•  Supports high-tech dual use and defence startups 

and scaleups

 ▶ Collaborative research

•  Addresses societal challenges like disinformation 

and climate change and boosts EU competitiveness, 
aligned with the objectives of the European 
Competitiveness Fund

 ▶ Streamlined partnerships with Member 

States and the private sector

•  Simplifies their organisation and operations
•  Envisions more focused partnerships aligned with 
strategic industrial sectors for our competitiveness, 
security and resillience

•  Leverages private investments
•  Pulls R&I investments between the EU and Member 

States

 ▶ More support for research and technology 

infrastructures

•  Funds cutting-edge research and technology 

infrastructures

•  Supports facilities, resources and services

 ▶ Spreading excellence

•  New tailored approach, focusing on actions to 
increase R&I performance, enhance research 
capacity and ecosystems and combat brain drain.

Moonshots
Objective: ambitious technology driven projects that 
boost the EU’s strategic autonomy through research, 
development and deployment.

▶ 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 ▶ ocean observation

© European Union, 2025Reuse of this document is allowed, provided appropriate credit is given and any changes are indicated (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license). For any use or reproduction of elements that are not owned by the EU, permission may need to be sought directly from the respective right holders.Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2025PDF ISBN 978-92-68-29261-7 doi:10.2777/8979807 KI-01-25-147-EN-NEUROPE’S BUDGET