Horizon Europe 2025 Work Programmes Signal Strategic Shift Towards Boosting Competitiveness

Beginning this year, Horizon Europe will place greater emphasis on strengthening the EU’s competitiveness and will introduce streamlined administrative procedures, as outlined in the draft work programmes recently pre-released by the European Commission.

The change in focus is evident right from the opening statement: “Europe’s competitiveness – and its global leadership in becoming a clean and digital economy – depends on a new age of invention and ingenuity.”

This marks the first phase in a push towards more streamlined and competitiveness-oriented programming for the final two years of Horizon Europe, 2026 and 2027, as indicated by the draft documents.

Additionally, it provides a glimpse into the potential direction for research and innovation funding under the next EU multiannual budget, which the Commission will present this summer. As it stands, the next EU research programme is likely to be integrated into a broader EU mega-fund focused on enhancing competitiveness.