07 Jan 2026
BusinessEurope publishes new position on Horizon Europe and European Competitiveness Fund combination
On 18 December 2025, BusinessEurope published its new position paper on the future Horizon Europe Framework Programme (FP10) and its integration with the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) under the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework 2028-2034.
The paper strongly endorses the proposed close alignment between Horizon Europe and the ECF and calls on policymakers to target the €177 billion for FP10 in 2025 prices, as recommended by the Draghi report. It warns that any cuts to the research and innovation budget would undermine Europe’s global competitiveness.
BusinessEurope stresses that industry-led innovation and deployment must be reinforced through:
- a stronger budget for Pillar II,
- seamless links between Horizon Europe and the ECF, and
- meaningful industry involvement in governance structures and European Partnerships.
The paper also cautions that lower funding rates for large companies, mandatory cash contributions and one-size-fits-all simplification tools such as lump sums by default risk discouraging industrial participation. This could weaken the translation of research into marketable solutions and jeopardise efforts to close Europe’s innovation gap.
The position paper can be downloaded here: