opinion parliamentary committee draft, 25 March 2026
On the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing Horizon Europe, the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, for the period 2028-2034 laying down its rules for participation and dissemination, and repealing Regulation (EU) 2021/695
Document BUDG-PA-782453 · (COM(2025)0543 – C100164/2025 – 2025/0543(COD))
Committee on Budgets · Rapporteur: Hélder Sousa Silva
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Budgetary assessment 61 paragraphs
for the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy on the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing Horizon Europe, the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, for the period 2028-2034 laying down its rules for participation and dissemination, and repealing Regulation (EU) 2021/695
(COM (2025)0543 – C100164/2025 – 2025/0543(COD))
The Committee on Budgets has carried out a budgetary assessment of the proposal under Rule 58 of the Rules of Procedure and has reached the following conclusions:
The Committee on Budgets,
A.whereas the Draghi report identifies Research and Innovation as one of the main drivers behind productivity and people’s well-being, able to generate positive externalities and supporting EU strategic autonomy and social model; whereas the report supports the design of a simpler programme focused on selected priorities and an increased budget of EUR 200 billion;
B.whereas the interim evaluation of Horizon Europe confirms its high European added value, relevance and effectiveness; and, whereas the evaluation highlights that despite the increase of the average success rate from 12% in Horizon 2020 to 16.4% in Horizon Europe, only 30% of the high-quality proposals could be financed and an additional EUR 81.8 billion would have been needed to fund them all;
C.whereas the Budapest declaration re-states the importance of dedicating 3% of GDP on R&D by 2030; whereas in the 26 years since the Barcelona declaration, only few Member States have achieved this target; whereas the Horizon Europe Framework Programme can support the achievement of such target and leverage additional funds from public and private entities;
D.whereas the Letta report proposes a new “5th freedom to enhance research, innovation and education in the Single Market”;
1.Considers that the programme envelope should be increased from EUR 154 billion to EUR [number from the interim report, in current and 2025 prices] in order to provide the European economy with the needed innovation boost in key sectors, to ensure adequate levels of funding for all priorities and programme objectives, supporting the objective of dedicating 3% of GDP towards R&D expenditures by 2030;
2.Considers that sufficient human resources must be available from the outset and throughout the entire programming period of the next MFF to ensure an effective implementation of the Horizon Europe programme;
3.Points out that the breakdown of the budget in Article 6 includes only 7 indicative amounts at item level compared to 15 in the 2021-2027 period; expresses concerns that the lack of a predictable budget for many actions - in particular within pillar I and III - where beneficiaries lack a clear financial envelope; notes that this would give the Commission great latitude to shift and decide on spending priorities during implementation without any added value for the researchers, innovators and SMEs that benefit from the programme; recommends fixing indicative sub-envelopes in the basic act to increase predictability, transparency and accountability;
4.Recognizes that flexibility is an important feature of the Commission proposal for the 2028 - 2034 MFF architecture; however, recalls the need to ensure predictable and sufficient annual resources for the Horizon Europe programme, considering the long-term nature of research and innovation projects; considers that an indicative budgetary allocation for each item of the programme would ensure predictability for final beneficiaries, without depriving the budgetary authority of its prerogatives;
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5.Regrets the lack of a sufficiently detailed indicative budgetary nomenclature proposed in the Legislative Financial and Digital Statement (LFDS), which includes only 5 budget lines, compared to 44 in the 2021-2027 period; considers that this will hamper oversight, predictability and the budgetary authority’s ability to steer accurately policy priorities in the annual budgetary procedure; expresses concerns that the overly aggregated budgetary architecture would facilitate dramatically transfers not subject to budgetary authority decision;
6.Insists that sufficiently detailed and sound legislation, with an appropriate level of governance, is a condition for proper budgetary decision-making and adequate parliamentary oversight during budget implementation; considers that a poorly constructed “steering mechanism” cannot compensate for any loss of Parliament’s legislative or budgetary powers;
7.Recalls that the proposal includes the possibility to use a budgetary guarantee; stresses that the budgetary implications of borrowing and lending operations under Horizon Europe Framework Programme must be clearly identified, transparently presented and carefully monitored throughout the MFF period; insists that all decisions related to such operations must fully respect the powers of the co-legislators and the prerogatives of the budgetary authority;
8.Highlights that the Scaleup Europe Fund serves the objectives of unlocking European technology champions that deliver long-term strategic value for the EU, in line with the objectives of the Draghi report; recalls that this Fund is a one-in-a-kind instrument which put together the EU budget and private investors to access significant capital to companies at growth and scaleup stage; strongly call for the Scaleup Europe Fund to continue its mission within the European Innovation Council in the next MFF;
9.Stresses that the success of the Scale-up Europe Fund to continue to make scaleup investments after 2027;
10.Stresses that the use of external assigned revenue under the Horizon Europe Framework Programme must be fully transparent and subject to effective parliamentary scrutiny; takes note in that regard of the provisions relating to financial contributions by any participating third country and other donors; underlines that, should the lead committee consider amending provisions relating to external assigned revenue, this should be done in coordination with the Committee on Budgets and the other committees to ensure a consistent approach;
11.Recalls the proposal for a Regulation on establishing a budget expenditure tracking and performance framework and other horizontal rules for the Union programmes and activities (the “performance regulation”), which establishes a single streamlined list for performance indicators and monitoring and evaluation provisions, some of them being relevant for Horizon Europe Framework Programme; recalls that the application of horizontal principles should be where feasible and appropriate in accordance with sector specific rules, as provided for in the recast of the Financial Regulation, in order to ensure that they are applied in a manner that duly takes into account the specificities of sectoral programmes; underlines that any change in the architecture, objectives and eligible actions under the programme will need to be appropriately reflected in the monitoring provisions under Annex I of the performance regulation, as part of the process of amending and negotiating that regulation;
12.Considers that research decommitments should be fully re-used to help strengthen the Union’s research capacity, without artificially capping the amounts, which is not established in the Financial Regulation; considers also that reflows from financial instruments should stay available within the Horizon Europe programme.
As part of its budgetary assessment, the Committee on Budgets also submits the following amendments to the draft proposal.
Amendment 1
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 34
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| 34. Where Union support under the Programme is to be provided in the form of a budgetary guarantee or a financial instrument, including where combined with non-repayable support in a blending operation, with the exception of financial instruments under the EIC, such support should be provided exclusively through the ECF InvestEU Instrument in accordance with the applicable rules of the ECF InvestEU Instrument. | 34. Where Union support under the Programme is to be provided in the form of a budgetary guarantee or a financial instrument, including where combined with non-repayable support in a blending operation, with the exception of financial instruments under the EIC - including the Scaleup Europe Fund, such support should be provided exclusively through the ECF InvestEU Instrument in accordance with the applicable rules of the ECF InvestEU Instrument. |
Or.en
Amendment 2
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 38 a (new)
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (38a) The provisions of this Regulation as well as its governance arrangements should be conducive to proper decision-making by the budgetary authority and to appropriate parliamentary oversight. In particular, any specification of programme internal architecture should be duly reflected in the budget nomenclature through the introduction of corresponding budget lines. |
Or.en
Amendment 3
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 38 b (new)
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (38b) The implications of this Regulation for the Union budget have been assessed+ pursuant to Article 310(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Sufficient financial and human resources should be provided for its implementation, while considering the impact of the financing on other Union programmes or policies and ensuring its compatibility with the multiannual financial framework, the system of own resources and the corresponding interinstitutional agreement, as well as with the budgetary principles laid down in Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council[1]. | |
| + Pro memoria: Budgetary assessment of the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgets on the proposal for Council Decision on Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing Horizon Europe, the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, for the period 2028-2034 laying down its rules for participation and dissemination, and repealing Regulation (EU) 2021/695. | |
| [1] Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2024 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (OJ L, 2024/2509, 26.9.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/2509/oj). |
Or.en
Amendment 4
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 38 c (new)
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (38c) In line with Article 15(3) of the Financial Regulation, research decommitments shall be re-used to help strengthen the Union’s research capacity, without any pre-emptive cap restricting the budget authority in the annual budget procedure. |
Or.en
Amendment 5
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| 1. The indicative financial envelope for the implementation of the Programme for the period 2028-2034 is set at EUR 175 002 000 000 in current prices. | 1. The indicative financial envelope for the implementation of the Programme for the period 2028-2034 is set at EUR [insert number from the Interim report on the proposal for the multiannual financial framework for 2028-2034 (2025/0571R(APP)), in current and 2025 prices]. |
Or.en
Amendment 6
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 3
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| 3. With the exception of financial instruments under the EIC (Fund) where Union support is provided in the form of a budgetary guarantee or a financial instrument, including where combined with non-repayable support in a blending operation, it shall be exclusively provided through the European Competitiveness Fund InvestEU Instrument and implemented in accordance with the applicable rules of the European Competitiveness Fund InvestEU Instrument through the contribution or guarantee agreements concluded for that purpose. Where the Programme makes use of the ECF InvestEU Instrument, it shall provide the provisioning for the budgetary guarantee and the financing to financial instruments, including when combined with non- repayable support in the form of a blending operation. | 3. With the exception of financial instruments under the EIC (Fund) – including the Scaleup Europe Fund -where Union support is provided in the form of a budgetary guarantee or a financial instrument, including where combined with non-repayable support in a blending operation, it shall be exclusively provided through the European Competitiveness Fund InvestEU Instrument and implemented in accordance with the applicable rules of the European Competitiveness Fund InvestEU Instrument through the contribution or guarantee agreements concluded for that purpose. Where the Programme makes use of the ECF InvestEU Instrument, it shall provide the provisioning for the budgetary guarantee and the financing to financial instruments, including when combined with non- repayable support in the form of a blending operation, within the maximum amount of the budgetary guarantee established by the ECF Regulation. |
Or.en
Amendment 7
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 a (new)
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (2a) [From 1 January 2028 / programme start date], by way of derogation from the first, second and fourth subparagraphs of Article 212(3) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, revenue, repayments and recoveries from financial instruments funded from this Regulation and its predecessors provisioned through the European Competitiveness Fund shall be used to provide Union support under the Horizon Europe programme. By way of derogation from point (f) of Article 21(3) and in accordance with Article 21(5) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509, these resources shall constitute external assigned revenue to the Horizon Europe programme. Revenue, repayments and recoveries from financial instruments implemented by the EIC Fund shall remain on the balance of the EIC Fund. |
Or.en
Amendment 8
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 b (new)
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (2b) Commitment appropriations corresponding to the amount of decommitments resulting from total or partial non-implementation of research projects shall be made available again to this Programme, in the context of the budgetary procedure, in priority for the same objective. |
Or.en