Horizon Europe, also known as the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, is the EU’s main programme that funds research and innovation. It operates on a seven-year cycle.
The current programme (the ninth Framework Programme) started in 2021 and runs until 2027. It has a budget of €95.5 billion (approximately £82 billion). Preparations for its successor, the 10th Framework Programme (FP10), are already underway.
In July 2025, the European Commission (the EU’s executive branch) published its proposals for both FP10 and its Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). The MFF sets the maximum annual amounts that can be spent by the EU on various policy areas, including research and innovation. Like FP10, the MFF is adopted for a seven-year period.
Together, the documents published by the European Commission set out plans for FP10’s budget and structure.
What is Horizon Europe?
Horizon Europe is the EU’s main funding programme for research and innovation. Multiple research fields are supported by the programme, but it has a particular focus on tackling global challenges, like climate change, and boosting the EU’s competitiveness.
Its full name is the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. The framework programmes started with Framework Programme 1 in 1984 and initially ran for five-year periods. Since 2007, the programmes have run for seven-year periods.
The framework programmes have been known as ‘Horizon’ since 2014.
What will the budget be for FP10?
The European Commission has confirmed that FP10 will be a standalone programme and has proposed a budget of €175 billion.
It has emphasised, however, that FP10 will be “tightly connected” to the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF).
The ECF is a new initiative that will invest in technologies which the EU views as “critical” to its global competitiveness, including artificial intelligence and ‘clean tech’ (technologies that help to reduce emissions and resource consumption).
How will FP10 be structured?
The European Commission has proposed that FP10 will be known as Horizon Europe 2028-2034 and will be structured around four ‘pillars’ (PDF):
Pillar I: Excellent science
Pillar I aims to “strengthen the EU’s scientific base” through a total of €44.079 billion of earmarked funding for the:
- European Research Council (which supports fundamental research)
- Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions (which supports doctoral and postdoctoral training programmes)
- Science for EU policies (using evidence, expertise and knowledge to inform EU policymaking)
Pillar II: Competitiveness and society
Pillar II aims to support “collaborative research and innovation in areas of high societal impact”. The commission has proposed that approximately €68 billion of Pillar II funding will be managed in conjunction with the ECF. The pillar’s four “competitive” research themes reflect the ECF’s priorities:
- clean transition and industrial decarbonisation
- health, biotech, agriculture and bioeconomy
- digital leadership
- resilience and security, defence industry, and space
Over €7 billion is also proposed to support three ‘society’ themes:
- Global societal challenges
- New European Bauhaus Facility
- EU Missions
Pillar III: Innovation
Pillar III proposes a total of €38.785 billion to promote the development of new and innovative products, services, and business models. This is to be shared across the:
- European Innovation Council (EIC, which provides funding to start-ups and researcher-led innovation projects)
- Innovation Ecosystems
Notably, the commission has suggested that the EIC should be expanded, with more dedicated support for defence and ‘dual use’ start-ups (dual-use technologies are those that can be used for both civilian and military purposes).
Pillar IV: European Research Area
Pillar IV aims to support the EU’s ambition to create a “single, borderless market for research, innovation and technology across the EU” with €16.262 billion of funding. It includes funding for research and technology infrastructure, such as state-of-the-art equipment and laboratories.
In addition, the commission has proposed that FP10 will develop ‘moonshot’ projects in conjunction with the European Competitiveness Fund. These would aim to take promising research and develop it into real-world applications to boost the EU’s overall competitiveness and autonomy.
What happens next?
Neither the FP10 proposals, nor the MFF, are final; they must go through the standard EU legislative process. This means they will be subject to negotiations between the European Parliament and member states. More specifically, the European Parliament and the European Council (which sets the overall political direction and policies for the EU) must agree jointly on any amendments before the European Commission’s proposals can be adopted. A final agreement is expected late in 2027.
Since the overall budget for FP10 will be defined in the MFF, the legislative processes that lead to the adoption of the MFF and the framework programme are synchronised.
More details of the lifecycle of a framework programme, including how it is adopted and implemented, can be found in the European Parliamentary Research Service briefing on EU framework programme processes Adoption, implementation, evaluation (PDF).
Will the UK be involved in FP10?
For the UK to take part in FP10 under the same conditions as EU member states, it will need to ‘associate’ to the programme (which includes contributing funding to the programme), as it did to Horizon Europe in 2024.
DSIT policy paper
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) published the UK position on the EU’s Research and Innovation Framework Programme in September 2024. DSIT explained that the UK was “interested in potentially associating to FP10 assuming it is open, relevant and provides good value for our research community and the UK taxpayer”.
The DSIT paper also listed what the UK Government was particularly looking to see in FP10. This included keeping scientific “excellence” at the “core” of the programme, while ensuring that the “entire research pipeline is supported” to enable the translation of research into tangible outcomes.
2025 Spending Review
The 2025 Spending Review allocated funding for association to “Horizon Europe and its successor”.
The Science Minister, Lord Vallance, later confirmed that funds to associate are available for the first two years of FP10, with the subsequent years of the programme falling under the timeframe of the next Spending Review.
About the author: Elizabeth Rough is a researcher at the House of Commons Library.
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