This live blog is tracking the latest developments in European research and innovation programmes, including the broader debate on the future of R&D policy and funding in the next multiannual budget due to start in 2028. Beyond that, we look at other EU policies with significant research and innovation components in climate, digital, agriculture and regional development. In addition, national governments often come up with new R&D policies, decide to fund new research avenues, and set up international cooperation deals. This blog aims to keep you informed on all of that and more.
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The European Commission has published its 2026 calls for proposals in health under Cluster 1 of Horizon Europe, with approximately €610 million in funding up for grabs.
The 18 topics range from understanding the impacts of climate change on health to scaling up innovation in cardiovascular health.
The deadline for the calls is April 16. Applicants will be informed if their proposals have been shortlisted by the end of July.
An online information day around the 2026 calls took place on February 10 and is available to rewatch here. Full details of the calls are available here.
The European Commission has awarded €404.3 million to 1,610 postdoctoral researchers to work at top universities, research centres, private and public organisations and SMEs in 45 different countries under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions.
This is the first time MSCA success rates have dropped below 10%.
More details here.
The European Innovation Council (EIC) has selected 40 projects from 17 EU member states and Horizon Europe associated countries under its 2025 Transition call, with an estimated total budget of €96 million.
The EIC Transition programme has no predefined thematic restrictions, which means that it welcomes proposals from all fields of science and technology.
Of the 611 submissions received, 130 came from the European Research Council Proof of Concept projects.
Each successful project will receive a grant of up to €2.5 million.
More details here.
Academic and university networks are calling for a strong recognition of their role in boosting science diplomacy and informing decisions, especially in a tense geopolitical context that has seen anti-science rhetoric spreads.
These include the Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities, the European Cooperation in Science and Technology, the Marie Curie Alumni Association and the U7+ Alliance of World Universities.
“Science diplomacy is increasingly seen as the ‘other side of the coin’ for research security,” said Sean Rowlands, senior policy officer at the Guild, in a statement. “Building Europe's understanding and support for science diplomacy can strengthen all stakeholders’ efforts to address shared global challenges amid geopolitical rupture.”
More details here.
The European Union has unveiled a new semiconductor pilot line based in Belgium that will allow European companies to test new chip designs prior to mass production.
The NanoIC facility, based at IMEC Leuven, is one of five pilot lines funded by the EU’s Chips Act.
It’s been funded with €700 million from the EU, €700 million from national and regional governments, and another €1.1 billion from companies, including Dutch chipmaking equipment manufacturer ASML.
Aside from IMEC, research partners include CEA-Leti in France, the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, VTT in Finland, Center for Surface Science and Nanotechnology in Romania, and the Tyndall National Institute in Ireland.
The European Commission and India have started exploratory discussions on India’s possible association to the EU Framework Programme for research and innovation.
The move, which aims to strengthen their cooperation on joint scientific and technological priorities, follows the 16th EU-India Summit held in New Delhi in late January.
“Science works best when borders do not get in the way of ideas,” said research Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva. “Exploring India’s association to Horizon Europe is about connecting talent, ambition and trust, and building solutions together at global scale.”
More details here.
The EU’s regional cooperation programme Interreg is tendering for an expert in artificial intelligence to design and implement AI solutions focusing on a Proof of Concept for automating report assessments.
Interest experts, whether freelance or within an external company, can apply until February 16.
More details here.
The implementation rate of start-up-friendly policies across Europe has increased to 70% in 2025, against 61% in 2024, according to a report by the Europe Startup Nations Alliance (ESNA).
“The report shows encouraging progress in how countries are implementing the Startup Nations Standards, with growing alignment between political ambition and concrete policy measures on the ground,” said Arthur Jordão, executive director at ESNA. “It provides policymakers with a practical tool to understand what works, identify remaining gaps and design targeted reforms that can accelerate impact.”
Per ESNA, access to finance stood among the best-performing standards last year, with an implementation level of 77% across the continent, and 100% for seven of the countries surveyed.
More details here.
The European Commission has awarded €97.7 million for 81 projects under the 2025 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) call for Staff Exchanges, representing a success rate of 22.5%.
The selected collaborative projects, which cover research areas ranging from cancer diagnostics to water management to artificial intelligence-driven diagnostics, involve 1,093 organisations in 95 countries, including 313 non-academic organisations and 157 SMEs.
More details here.
The European Commission has awarded the fourth edition of its prizes for gender equality champions in research and innovation, recognising institutional progress towards gender parity.
The winners are the Bielefeld University in Germany, the Open University of Catalonia in Spain, the Jozef Stefan Institute in Slovenia, Charles University in Czechia and University College Cork in Ireland.
Read about the awards here.
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