Horizon Europe Cluster 4 Work Programme for 2026–2027 adopted
On 11 December 2026, the European Commission adopted the Horizon Europe Work Programme for 2026–2027, which foresees €14 billion for research and innovation projects. The programme places additional emphasis on newly introduced horizontal calls, alongside targeted support for the Clean Industrial Deal (€540 million), the AI in Science call (€90 million), and the Choose Europe initiative.
The indicative Horizon Europe Cluster 4 budget for digital destinations and topics amounts to €678.3 million, and the total number of calls ranges from 20 in 2026 to 13 in 2027 (except indirectly managed action, public procurements and Specific Grant Agreement calls). These figures cover both the Work Programme for Digital, Industry and Space and the new Work Programme on Horizontal Activities, which, according to the European Commission, “addresses cross-cutting challenges across different research and innovation areas.”
The digital calls in both work programmes cover areas such as:
- Artificial intelligence (AI), including AI in Science and trustworthy AI
- Data technologies, , and cloud–edge infrastructures
- Open Internet Stack, Web 4.0, and virtual worlds (XR)
- Robotics, digital twins, and AI-enabled industrial systems
- Semiconductors, microelectronics, and photonics
- Quantum technologies (computing and sensing)
- Human-centric digital technologies and standards
The horizontal calls include Thematic Networks of Excellence for AI in Science, which support Europe-wide networks of leading research labs to advance AI-driven scientific research and build the Resource for AI Science in Europe (RAISE) community. They also cover Automated Scientific Discovery, focusing on AI-driven automated laboratories to accelerate research, and RAISE Doctoral Networks for AI in Science, which fund doctoral training programmes to develop skills in AI-enabled scientific methods.
It is also worth emphasising that the calls were prepared in close cooperation with, and supported by, several EU initiatives and partnerships, including the Apply AI Initiative, AI in Science, the Resource for AI Science in Europe (RAISE), the EU Frontier AI Initiative, and GenAI4EU, as well as partnerships on Virtual Worlds and Web 4.0, Photonics, Artificial Intelligence, Data and Robotics, and Made in Europe.
The first calls will open on 16th of December 2025 and will be available for proposal submission via the Funding and Tenders Portal.
The European Commission Info Days for the Horizon Europe Cluster 4 calls are planned to take place online on 29 and 30 January 2026. In the meantime, the Idealist2027 project team invites stakeholders to register on the Digital Speed-Dating Platform to find potential partners for project consortia and to follow information on upcoming events, pre-proposal and full proposal check services, and other initiatives via the project’s website and social media channels.
Relevant documents:
- European Commission press release
- Horizon Europe Work programmes
- The Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027 for Digital, Industry and Space
- The Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027 Horizontal Activities