Horizon Europe follows a global approach. It supports research and innovation from concept, fundamental research and applied research to market uptake. The programme focuses on three main pillars:
The pillar focusing on excellent science builds on the successes of Horizon 2020 and reinforces the European Union’s scientific leadership and capacity, high-quality knowledge and skills development, through strengthening research infrastructures and the bottom-up European Research Council and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions.
This pillar takes forward the societal challenges and industrial technologies in a top-down directed approach. It addresses EU and global policy and competitiveness challenges and opportunities and is organised around six thematic clusters (Health; Culture, Creativity, and Inclusive Society; Civil Security for Society; Digital, Industry and Space; Climate, Energy and Mobility; Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment).
Pillar 2 also provides scientific evidence and technical support to EU policies, including through the activities of the Joint Research Centre, and opportunities to coordinate and facilitate research and innovation efforts.
This pillar supports the scaling up of breakthrough and market-creating innovation through the Pathfinder and Accelerator programmes of the European Innovation Council, the enhancement of the European Innovation Ecosystem, and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).
The three pillars are underpinned by activities aimed at widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area. This includes, in particular, sharing excellence to fully exploit the potential in less research and innovation-performing countries so that they attain high Union standards of excellence; and reforming and enhancing the European research and innovation system.
The Horizon Europe pillar structure is complemented by partnerships and missions.
