Horizon Europe and its impact on European innovation

Amid ongoing discussions surrounding the forthcoming Multiannual Financial Framework 2028–2035, the European Commission released last Friday the mid-term evaluation of the first four years of Horizon Europe, the EU’s ninth framework programme for research and innovation. The report not only assesses its achievements but also outlines its future, reaffirming a belief we at Zabala Innovation have held since 1986: R&D&I is the driving force behind Europe’s competitiveness.

With over 15,000 projects funded to date and a budget exceeding €43 billion, Horizon Europe has firmly established itself as the EU’s main instrument to foster scientific excellence, international cooperation and economic impact. Within the programme, Pillar II — focused on global challenges and European industrial competitiveness — stands as a cornerstone, accounting for 59% of the available funds. Of this allocation, 60.4% has been directed toward clusters dedicated to climate action and digital transformation.

This pillar promotes large-scale consortia, typically comprising an average of 16 partners, with grants reaching up to €2.9 million. It has generated over 1,900 innovations and 24 intellectual property registrations. It also hosts the European Partnerships, strategic instruments that mobilise industry, SMEs, and knowledge centres around shared, large-scale challenges.

At Zabala Innovation, we are proud to have supported 2% of the proposals funded under this pillar. We know the task is not easy: participating requires aligning visions, capabilities and resources within a complex and competitive environment. But we also recognise that the ambition and collaboration fostered by Horizon Europe are unparalleled in the European ecosystem.

Ambition and scale

More specifically, between 2021 and 2023, the programme allocated 35% of its funds to climate action, exceeding previous targets, while 65% of the climate science topics in Cluster 5 contributed to the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In the field of biodiversity, investment increased from 7.9% to 8.7%, with a target of 10% for 2026–2027. For clean air, €3.76 billion has been mobilised. Digital technologies received 33% of the budget, and civil security accounted for 10% of Pillar II.

The programme has also invested over €9 billion in 10,000 SMEs, primarily in the fields of digitalisation and clean energy, with 70% of their involvement falling under Pillar II. Some 51% of participants are newcomers, though the majority of coordinators remain established actors.

Naturally, the evaluation also identifies areas in need of improvement. Foremost among these is the complexity of the programme itself: within Pillar II alone, there are over 70 different instruments and hundreds of topics. In a highly competitive environment, with success rates at 16%, specialist departments and consultancies have become essential. In fact, 70% of applicants turned to such support when submitting their proposals, particularly for collaborative projects with high levels of technological maturity.

Regarding the impact of innovation, although open access has grown to reach 79% of results, the challenge remains of translating research into tangible benefits for society and the economy. This gap highlights the pressing need to strengthen the valorisation and exploitation of outcomes.

Challenges and proposals

Budgetary constraints continue to pose a structural challenge. Only 30% of proposals assessed as high-quality receive funding. To support the remaining 70%, an additional €82 billion would be required. In our experience, nearly three out of four proposals supported by Zabala Innovation are rated as excellent — yet only half of these secure funding. Even proposals with the highest possible score can be excluded due to tie-breaker criteria such as gender equality, which in many cases prevents valuable projects from being implemented.

The report also highlights the need to enhance synergies among European programmes. For projects that take over two decades to move from research to market, reducing duplication and building bridges between initiatives is essential. That is why, at Zabala Innovation, we advocate a project-centric rather than programme-centric approach.

Looking ahead to the next framework programme (FP10), our consultancy proposes maintaining an independent programme, with sufficient budget and a governance model that is flexible and responsive to European challenges. It is vital to reinforce industrial consortia, simplify instruments, foster synergies, enhance innovation management and acknowledge the professional role of specialised consultancies in key areas such as social impact, dissemination and exploitation of results.

These priorities solidify the path we have charted, from our participation in the European Parliament’s public hearing to our strategic contributions to the Horizon Europe ecosystem. The programme has proven its worth; now is the time to expand its reach and maximise its impact.