Latest draft work programme shows budgets in 2026 and 2027 lowered by 25% and 14% relative to earlier leaks
Photo credits: Marek Pavlík / Unsplash
The European Commission has revised downwards the budget that it will allocate to health-related calls in the two remaining years of Horizon Europe, according to the latest draft work programme. In 2026, funding now drops from the €787.39 billion in a draft from May to €594.24 billion, while in 2027 it amounts to €829.44 billion against the €968.88 billion cited in May.
This represents funding decreases of 25% and 14%, respectively.
In 2026, the budget for single-stage calls is reduced by €68 million to reach €456 million. That will include research projects to prevent the harmful effects of digital technologies on youth mental health, to develop vaccines for epidemics, to address low-value care practices, and to understand gender-specific determinants of cardiovascular diseases.
Meanwhile, single-stage calls for proposals in 2027 are expected to receive €414 million in total, down €98 million, for projects focused on supporting inclusion for individuals with disabilities, examining climate-related exposures in human health, developing innovative antimicrobials, and reducing risks from adverse drug reactions.
Related articles
- Commission to pre-publish all draft Horizon Europe work programmes
- Horizon work programmes for 2025 show clear shift to competitiveness
On the other hand, the two-stage calls for 2027 will receive €60 million more than stated in the previous draft, namely €190 million, with a new topic on advancing innovative interventions for neurodegenerative diseases.
“Neurodegenerative diseases are a high burden for patients, caregivers, health systems and society,” the Commission writes in its draft plans. “Given the limitations with current therapeutic solutions [. . .] there is a huge need to develop more innovative, safer and more effective therapeutic solutions for these diseases.”
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.
Receive the Funding Newswire [full access requires a subscription] each Tuesday, our Policy Bulletin each Thursday, and news about bridging Europe’s east-west innovation gap twice a month in The Widening. 
A unique international forum for public research organisations and companies to connect their external engagement with strategic interests around their R&D system.