Europe’s scientists have a reason to celebrate. EU ministers agreed their negotiating position on Horizon Europe today, backing a €175 billion research programme for 2028 to 2034. Talks with the European Parliament can now begin.
Cancer drugs that reach patients faster. A quantum computer capable of solving problems no machine has cracked before. A scientist from Bratislava who can build a career in Leuven without starting from scratch. These are the ambitions behind Horizon Europe 2028 to 2034, and at €175 billion it is the largest science budget the EU has ever proposed.
The Council of the EU reached a partial negotiating position on 26 June. It now has a mandate to enter talks with the European Parliament. The position is “partial” because it excludes the final budget figure and horizontal issues still being resolved in the broader multiannual financial framework (MFF) negotiations for 2028 to 2034.The Commission proposed a total envelope of €175 billion, nearly double the current programme‘s €95.5 billion.
Why this time is different
Horizon Europe is not new. The EU has run research framework programmes for over 40 years, and the current version, running until 2027, has funded almost 35,000 projects. Every euro invested is estimated to generate up to €11 in GDP gains. So what changes now?
The answer lies partly in politics. The Draghi report on EU competitiveness, published last year, was blunt: Europe is falling behind the United States and China on innovation, and public research spending is one of the main levers available to close the gap. The new Horizon Europe is designed with that diagnosis in mind. It keeps the famous brand but reorganises itself around four pillars: excellent science, competitiveness and society, innovation, and the European Research Area.
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It also ties itself much more tightly to the new European Competitiveness Fund (ECF). The idea is a seamless pipeline: a researcher gets a grant, develops a breakthrough result, spins it into a startup, and accesses scale-up funding through the ECF. In plain terms, it is an attempt to stop Europe being good at science but bad at turning science into products.
More money, more say for member states
The proposed €175 billion breaks down across four pillars. Excellent Science receives €44 billion, covering the European Research Council and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. Competitiveness and Society gets the largest share at nearly €76 billion. Innovation, including the European Innovation Council (EIC), receives €39 billion. The European Research Area pillar gets €16 billion.
The Council’s position makes one particularly significant political call: member states want more say. The agreed text strengthens member states’ role in setting strategic priorities. This applies above all to European Partnerships, the collaborative initiatives between the EU, industry, and national research bodies. The Council will have more say in deciding which partnerships are created, how they are monitored, and when they are wound down.
Defence research enters the picture
One of the more striking novelties is Horizon Europe’s explicit embrace of dual-use and defence innovation. The EIC will be able to support deep-tech startups working on defence applications. The Commission describes the approach as “DARPA-like“: high-risk, mission-driven, with expert programme managers who can pull the plug if a project loses its potential.
This is a significant shift. Previous framework programmes kept defence research firmly out of scope. Horizon Europe was meant to remain a predominantly civilian programme. That line is not erased, but it is blurred. With European defence investment accelerating across the board, the inclusion of dual-use innovation in the bloc’s flagship science programme reflects where political priorities now lie.
Simpler rules, faster money
One of the persistent criticisms of Horizon Europe has been bureaucracy. Researchers complain that applying for grants takes months, that reporting requirements are crushing, and that smaller universities rarely stand a chance against established institutions with dedicated grant-writing teams.
The new programme tries to address this. Lump-sum funding will become the default, replacing the laborious reimbursement of actual costs. The maximum time from application to grant signature is cut from eight to seven months. Funding rates are simplified: up to 100 per cent for most participants, with a cap of 70 per cent for large for-profit companies. Whether the ambition survives contact with implementation will be tested when the programme launches in 2028.
What happens next
The Council’s mandate now triggers negotiations with the European Parliament. The EP has not yet agreed its own position, meaning substantive talks are still some way off. A final deal on the overall MFF, expected by the end of 2026, would allow legislation to be adopted in 2027 and funding to flow from January 2028 without interruption.
The partial nature of today’s agreement reflects one outstanding uncertainty: the total budget. The Commission’s proposed €175 billion remains indicative until member states and the Parliament agree on the MFF as a whole. For researchers, universities, and startups across the continent, the number that eventually lands will determine how ambitious the programme’s promises actually are.
Research and innovation are among Europe’s greatest strategic assets.
— Nicodemos Damianou, Deputy Minister for Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Cyprus
“Research and innovation are among Europe’s greatest strategic assets. By investing in scientific excellence and turning breakthrough research into innovative products, technologies and industries, we strengthen Europe’s competitiveness, resilience and strategic autonomy,” said Nicodemos Damianou, Cyprus’s Deputy Minister for Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, who steered the Council position under the current presidency.
The money, if it arrives in full, would make Horizon Europe one of the largest public investments in science anywhere in the world. The question now is whether Europe’s institutions can agree on the bill before the laboratories start waiting.
