Funding of Science, Research and Innovation in the Next Programming Period 2028+

The two programmes are designed to be complementary: FP10 will generate knowledge and innovation, while the ECF will bring them to industrial realisation and competitiveness. FP10 will focus more on the early stages (research, proof of concept, ideas), whereas the ECF will target the mid-to-late stages (deployment, scale-up, industrial projects).

The proposed budget for the Horizon programme for the period 2028–2034 is approximately EUR 175 billion, almost double the current framework programme. The programme will be structured around four pillars: Excellent Science, Competitiveness and Society, Innovation, and European Research Area. It will remain a standalone framework programme, but closely interconnected with the newly established European Competitiveness Fund (ECF).

Still unknown are the budget allocations among the pillars, detailed participation rules, distribution among countries, association of third countries, potential changes compared to the current framework, and, above all, the specific details of how FP10 and the ECF will interconnect and coexist.

The European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) is a planned financial instrument of the European Union for the period 2028–2034, aimed at enhancing Europe’s technological and economic competitiveness, simplifying administration, and accelerating the pathway from research and development to industrial production of strategic technologies. It consolidates 14 existing programmes (e.g. Innovation Fund, Digital Europe, CEF-Digital, EDF, EDIP/EDIRPA/ASAP, EU4Health, SMP-SME, LIFE, and others). The proposed fund will form part of the new EU Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028–2034 and will be managed directly by the European Commission. Its proposed budget amounts to EUR 234.3 billion.

Four main investment windows are planned:

• Digital Leadership – Artificial Intelligence, quantum technologies, micro-/nanoelectronics, cybersecurity, data infrastructure.
• Clean Transition & Industrial Decarbonisation – renewable energy, hydrogen, batteries, carbon capture technologies, critical raw materials, circular economy, modernisation of heavy industry.
• Health, Biotech, Agriculture & Bioeconomy – personalised medicine, vaccines, genomics, agri-tech, bio-innovation.
• Resilience & Security – Defence Industry & Space – defence systems, cyber and space technologies, satellites, protection of critical infrastructure.

As part of the administrative simplification effort, the ECF introduces a so-called “single rulebook” and “single gateway”, aiming to harmonise rules across programmes, shorten the time-to-grant, and enable the combination of various funding sources.