Horizon Europe is the European Union's framework programme for research and innovation for 2021–2027, with a budget of approximately EUR 95.5 billion. Unlike the EU funds, it is a directly managed programme – applications are submitted in English directly to the European Commission via the Funding & Tenders portal, and projects compete against others from across Europe. The programme has three pillars: Excellent Science, including grants from the European Research Council (ERC); Global Challenges and Industrial Competitiveness, with thematic clusters ranging from health to digitalisation; and Innovative Europe, with the EIC accelerator for start-ups and scale-ups. Funding reaches 70 to 100% of eligible costs plus a flat rate for indirect expenditure, with no need for national co-financing. Slovak applicants receive free assistance from the national contact points on the eraportal.sk portal. Besides funding, participation in Horizon Europe also brings prestige, international consortia and access to cutting-edge know-how; the success rate of applications, however, stands at around 15%.
See also: EIC Accelerator.
