New versions of draft Cluster 5 and 6 work programmes for 2026-27 are out

Two new versions of draft Horizon Europe work programmes are out, and they include a big decrease in funding for collaborative climate, energy and mobility research in 2026 and 2027.

The total direct funding for Horizon’s Cluster 5, which covers big collaborative climate, energy and mobility projects, is down by about a third. Compared with the previous version from May, the draft budgets have shrunk from €1.759 billion to €1.218 billion in 2026, and from €1.296 billion to €862 million in 2027. 

But not the entire decrease is money gone. Some of the funding has simply moved elsewhere in the Horizon budget, such as almost €500 million for Horizon Europe Missions and the €150 million for big climate-friendly tech demonstrator projects, which will be described in a separate annex. 

The new draft budget lines are roughly in line with the previous years of Horizon Europe, such as €1,662 billion in 2023, €1,404 billion in 2024 and €1,231 billion in 2025.

Elsewhere, the strategic planning committee has cut the budgets for various topics as well as moved topics around the different calls. The total number of big calls falls from 18 to 16, but most of the topics have been reabsorbed by other calls.

Related articles:

• Draft work programme outlines €1.1B in agri-food and environment calls
• Leaked Horizon plans point to €140.5M cut in food and environment calls

This is likely not the last set of changes for the work programme, as the Commission and member states work towards finalising the plans for the last two years of Horizon Europe by the end of 2025. Up until then, anything can change. 

Similarly, over the summer the Commission published a leaner version of the work programme for Cluster 6, which covers research on food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture and environment.

The budgets for both years are again down by about a third in the newest version, from around €900 million each year to just over €600 million. But in the case of Cluster 6, this is largely due to the money moving around the Horizon budgets, with much of the funding transferred to the work programmes for Horizon Europe Missions and the New European Bauhaus.

Find the draft work programmes on our Horizon papers page.

Editor’s note: We think it is important to maintain a public record of how Horizon Europe evolves in successive rounds of drafting between the Commission and member states. This is why we publish analyses of draft Horizon Europe work programmes as they become available on our Horizon Papers page.