EUA provides in-depth analysis of Horizon Europe proposal

On 29 September 2025, the European University Association presented a policy input comprising an in-depth analysis of the legislative proposal for Horizon Europe (2028-2034) and its links to the newly proposed European Competitiveness Fund (ECF).  

Overall, EUA welcomes the European Commission’s proposal, not least the decision to safeguard Horizon Europe as a stand-alone programme. In addition, the proposed budget of €175 billion over seven years sends a positive signal that R&I is recognised as a cornerstone of Europe’s competitiveness, prosperity and resilience. However, EUA states that this falls short of what is really needed to maximise the programme’s impact, and that this figure must serve as a baseline in the upcoming negotiations.

Aside from the many positive aspects of the proposal, this paper also highlights areas of concern for universities. In particular, the proposed ‘tight connection’ with the ECF raises serious concerns about whether the programme’s much-valued autonomy and integrity will be safeguarded in practice, while the removal of the civilian clause creates ambiguity around dual-use research.

In addition to these key takeaways on the programme’s fundamentals, EUA’s analysis also provides a breakdown of the proposal by each of Horizon Europe’s pillars, as well as sections on simplification and horizontal topics. Here the protection of bottom-up excellence schemes such as the European Research Council, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and the European Innovation Council’s Pathfinder and Transition programmes is especially welcome, as are efforts to increase participation through shorter work programmes, less prescriptive planning and more open topics by default.

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Horizon Europe (2028-2034): EUA analysis of the European Commission's proposal