Horizon Europe Work Programmes 2026–2027 are officially published now – how to move from monitoring to action

15th December 2025 at 2:05 pm

After months of anticipation, the European Commission (EC) has officially released the final Horizon Europe Work Programmes for 2026–2027 on 11 December 2025. This marks a critical moment for research and innovation actors across Europe and beyond, as it provides full clarity on forthcoming calls, budgets, expected impacts and policy priorities for the final phase of Horizon Europe. If you are planning to apply under Horizon Europe in 2026 or 2027, now is the right moment to move from monitoring to action.

The publication confirms the EC’s strategic direction for the remainder of the framework programme, with strong continuity around competitiveness, green and digital transitions, resilience, and societal impact, while also sharpening expectations around implementation, uptake and policy alignment. For consortia planning to apply in 2026 or early 2027, the message is clear: the preparation window has now opened in earnest.

What has been published and why it matters

The final Work Programmes cover all Horizon Europe pillars and clusters in pillar 2, including Cluster 1 Health, Cluster 4 Digital, Cluster 5 Climate, Energy and Mobility and Cluster 6 Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment, as well as Missions, the contractual Partnerships and cross-cutting actions. With virtually no changes in relation to the last recently published draft versions, these final documents provide:

• Confirmed call texts and topic scopes
• Final budgets per topic
• Official expected outcomes and impacts
• Validated implementation modalities, including TRL ranges, type of action and conditions

This level of certainty allows applicants to move from opportunity scanning to strategic consortium building and proposal design, grounded in the Commission’s final wording rather than assumptions.

What this means for applicants now

With the final Work Programmes published, consortia should use the coming months to move beyond topic selection and address more structural questions. At this stage, applicants should:

• Re-read their target topics line by line, focusing on what is mandatory versus optional
• Check for subtle changes compared to draft versions that may affect scope or ambition
• Assess whether their initial project idea still fits cleanly with the final expected outcomes
• Start building consortia that reflect both technical needs and implementation credibility
• Allocate sufficient time for impact, exploitation and policy alignment, not just excellence

Waiting until calls open to start structuring a proposal is increasingly risky, particularly in highly competitive topics.

Novelties for 2026-2027: Simpler management and faster access, and the Horizontal Activities

The EC is also signalling a deliberate push towards simpler programme management and lower administrative burden through these key measures:

• More two-stage calls: Finally, the EC is expanding the use of two-stage calls (short first-stage submissions followed by full proposals for shortlisted applicants) and, in some cases, anonymised evaluation elements. In the newly published Work Programmes, a record number of calls, 41 in total, will follow a two-stage application process.
• Lump sum funding: It also foresees a wider use of lump sum funding, presented as a way to reduce ongoing financial reporting, even if some established organisations remain cautious about moving away from traditional cost-based approaches.
• Shortened Work Packages: In the final package, it points to broader, less prescriptive call topics, which has contributed to a substantially shorter overall Work Programme compared to the previous cycle (33% shorter), and it pairs this with a preference for fewer, larger projects to concentrate resources and strengthen impact.

Additionally, the EC has introduced a new Work Programme on Horizontal Activities for cross-cutting innovation challenges. The calls, outlined in a new, separate work programme under Pillar II, will cover two topics:

1. Clean Industrial Deal: a major investment line aimed at strengthening EU competitiveness through clean technology innovation. Horizon Europe is expected to channel € 540 million into actions that speed up technology deployment for decarbonising energy-intensive industries and advancing climate objectives.
2. AI in science: a second horizontal call with € 90 million is set to advance trustworthy AI applications for scientific progress, with relevance for fields such as advanced materials, agriculture and healthcare.

How accelopment supports applicants at this stage

At accelopment, we work closely with consortia across all major Horizon Europe clusters to translate Work Programme texts into competitive, evaluator-ready proposals. Our team of experts supports researchers, companies and institutions throughout the entire funding process – from strategic grant planning, to proposal writing, project management and communication and dissemination. With deep knowledge of Pillar II funding opportunities, we help our partners increase their chances of success in securing European research grants across the different clusters.

Having collaborated with over 1,000 institutions in Europe and beyond, we are currently involved in over 30 projects. Our portfolio includes CL1 Health projects (such as EXPOSIM, EDiHTA, EU PAL-COPD and the Cancer Mission project GLIOMATCH), the CL3 project CapCell, several CL5 energy and mobility projects (such as PEPPERONI, ROADVIEW and SOLARX) and CL6 food and environment projects, including DECIDE and PHOTONFOOD. With 2026 just around the corner, we look forward to supporting researchers in upcoming calls. Ready to embark in this adventure? Get in touch with our team to discuss how to position your project idea and write a competitive proposal.

Dr. Eva Avilla Royo
Research & Innovation Project Manager

Dr. Johannes Ripperger
Research & Innovation Manager

Andreia Cruz
Research & Innovation Project Manager