The Horizon Papers

On this page, you can find links to the draft Horizon Europe work programmes for 2025, and the official work programmes for 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. These are the documents that spell out the research topics, timing and budgets the Commission plans.

But Science|Business is also keeping the full history of the drafting process publicly available. On this page, besides the “final” versions of the work programmes, you will also find earlier-stage drafts that were leaked to us over time. We think it important to maintain a public record of how the programme evolves, in successive rounds of drafting between the Commission and member states. It is a political process – which, so far, the Commission refuses to make transparent.

And never fear: When the next round of leaked drafts start circulating online for 2026-27, Science|Business will again be publishing as and when we find them.

2025 Work Programmes

• Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society: October 2024.
• Digital, industry, space: May 2024. July 2024.
• Climate, energy and mobility: April 2024.
• Widening: October 2024. 
• EIC: July 2024. FINAL (October 2024).

2023-24 Work Programmes

• Health: March 2022, June 2022, FINAL (December 2022)
• Culture, creativity and inclusive society: early draft, July 2022, FINAL (December 2022)
• Civil security for society: January 2022, July 2022, FINAL (December 2022)
• Digital, industry, space: January 2022, September 2022, FINAL (December 2022)
• Climate, energy and mobility: January 2022, June 2022, undated latest draft, FINAL (December 2022)
• Food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture and environment: early draft, July 2022, FINAL (December 2022)
• MSCA: March 2022, September 2022, FINAL (December 2022)
• Widening: early draft, July 2022, FINAL (December 2022)
• Research infrastructures: early draft, July 2022, FINAL (December 2022)
• EIC: July 2022, October 2022
• Missions: Climate Adaptation, July 2022, FINAL (December 2022)
• European Innovation Ecosystems: undated latest draft, FINAL (December 2022)
• General annexes: FINAL (December 2022)
• ERC: final work programme (published by the ERC in July 2022)

2021-22 Work Programmes

• General introduction: January 2020, March 2021*
• General annexes: November 2020, January 2021, March 2021*
• Annex 2: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
• Annex 3: Research Infrastructures, March 2021*
• Strategic plan: November 2020, January 2021
• Model grant agreement: December 2020, February 2021
• Proposal template
• European Research Council: Final work programme 
• Widening and European Research Area
• The European Innovation Council: November 2020, March 2021*
• Research missions: February 2021, March 2021*
• Digital, Industry, Space 
• Digital, industry and space cluster: December 2020 version, February 2021, March 2021, March 2021 version 2
• Health cluster: October 2020; January 2021, March 2021*
• Climate, energy, and mobility: November 2020, February 2021, February 2021 version 2*
• Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment: December 2020, April 2021
• Culture, creativity and inclusive society: October 2020, March 2021*
• Civil security for society: September 2020, October 2020, January 2021*
• Missions: April 2021*
• Euratom: February 2021*
• Slides from meeting of the Shadow Strategic Configuration

The official Horizon Europe Work Programmes for 2021-2022 are available on the Commisison's funding & tenders portal.

Other documents

• European Commission’s first review of research missions: July 2023 
• Restructuring of the research and innovation directorate general, DG RTD: August 2023

You can download our analysis and explanation of the research programme in our own: "Horizon Europe: The Essential Guide [NEW EDITION]."

* documents linking to the European Commission's website 

Editor’s note: This page was updated 6 December 2022 to add the officially approved work programmes for 2023 and 2024.

Editor’s note: This page was last updated 7 November 2024 to add draft work programmes for 2025.