European Commission boosts Horizon Europe funding by 500 million euros

The European Commission has announced an additional 500 million euros for the Horizon Europe program to bolster research and innovation. This funding boost brings the total budget for the 2026-2027 period to approximately 14.8 billion euros.

The reinforcement includes two new calls for proposals designed to address critical challenges. The first, titled ‘Transformative Change Towards a Nature-Positive Economy and Society’, has a budget of 237 million euros and focuses on biodiversity protection and the impact of clean and digital industries. The second, ‘Bridging Actions 2027’, provides 260 million euros and targets areas such as the development of next-generation AI-based digital platforms for a secure and sustainable European energy system, as well as the upskilling of workers in small and medium-sized enterprises.