The Horizon Papers

On this page, you can find links to the draft Horizon Europe work programmes for 2025 and 2026-27, 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.

2026-27 Work Programmes

• Cities Mission: January 2025
• Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society: workshop destination 1, workshop destination 2, workshop destination 3
• Widening: February 2025
• ERA: February 2025
• Climate, energy and mobility: draft orientations (February 2025)
• Food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture and environment: undated initial draft
• Research infrastructures: draft orientations (February 2025)
• Climate adaptation Mission: topic ideas February 2025

2025 Work Programmes

• Health: December 2024
• Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society: October 2024, January 2025
• Civil security for society: November 2024
• Digital, industry, space: May 2024, July 2024, October 2024
• Climate, energy and mobility: April 2024
• Food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture and environment: October 2024, February 2025
• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA): January 2025
• Widening: October 2024
• EIC: July 2024, FINAL (October 2024)
• European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC): December 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 (ERC): Final work programme 
• Widening and European Research Area
• European Innovation Council (EIC): 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

Other documents

• Europe Commission's Competitiveness Compass: January 2025, FINAL (January 2025)
• 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 last updated 10 March 2025 to add a draft work programme for 2026-27.