Council agrees on partial position on Horizon Europe 2028-2034
On 26 June 2026, the Council of the European Union has agreed on its partial negotiating position on the next Horizon Europe programme for 2028-2034. The agreement covers both the Regulation establishing Horizon Europe and the Council Decision on the Specific Programme implementing it. It will serve as the Council’s mandate for negotiations with the European Parliament.
The Council position confirms that European Partnerships will remain an important instrument in the next Framework Programme, while proposing a clearer, more structured and more strategic framework for their identification, implementation, monitoring and phasing out.
Compared with the Commission proposal of July 2025, the Council text strengthens several partnership-related provisions. The Commission proposal already foresaw a strategic and coherent portfolio of a limited number of European Partnerships, based on Memoranda of Understanding or, in duly justified cases, on bodies established under Articles 185 and 187 TFEU. It also proposed that partnerships should be based on measurable results, partner commitments, governance arrangements, sufficient co-investment and a lifecycle approach including a strategy for gradually or fully phasing out Union funding.
The Council position builds on this approach and adds more detail on governance, Member State involvement, transparency, portfolio steering and links with other EU funding instruments. It explicitly states that European Partnerships are a key instrument for implementing Union research and innovation priorities. At the same time, it underlines that partnerships should address fragmentation and overlaps, enhance coherence, ensure complementarity and optimise the use of Union resources. For institutionalised European Partnerships, the Council text refers to the role of the Single Basic Act. Joint Undertakings under Article 187 TFEU should be covered by a single legal framework ensuring harmonised rules, while initiatives under Article 185 TFEU would continue to be established through dedicated acts. The Single Basic Act for Joint Undertakings, together with the relevant establishing acts for Article 185 initiatives, would specify the detailed rules for the contributions of all partners. This confirms that the general Horizon Europe Regulation will set the overall framework, while the detailed legal, governance and contribution arrangements for institutionalised partnerships will continue to be defined in their specific legal acts.
The Council position also points towards a more tripartite model for European Partnerships under Horizon Europe 2028-2034. In this context, tripartite means that the European Union, Member States or regions, and private-sector actors would jointly support a shared programme of activities. This concerns not only financial and in-kind contributions, but also the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the partnership. The approach is intended to combine EU-level strategic priorities, national and regional policy commitments, and private-sector investment in areas where a partnership is considered the most effective way to achieve common objectives.
A central element of the Council position is the stronger role for Member States and the Council. The areas for European Partnerships should be defined on the basis of guidance provided in the Council or, where appropriate, by its advisory bodies. Member States should be involved from an early stage in identifying a coherent partnership portfolio, and the identification of this portfolio should be completed early enough in the programming period to allow national and regional investment decisions.
The Council also reinforces the portfolio approach. European Partnerships should be selected through a transparent, open, competitive and non-discriminatory procedure, based on quantifiable lifecycle criteria. The aim is to establish a coherent and complementary portfolio of a limited number of initiatives. The Specific Programme text adds several selection criteria, including portfolio relevance, critical mass, partners’ composition, pan-European relevance, a mission-oriented approach, an ex-ante implementation plan and, where relevant, evidence of the efficiency, effectiveness and impact of predecessor initiatives.
Strategic Research and Innovation Agendas (SRIA) at the core of the Partnerships
Strategic Research and Innovation Agendas remain central to the partnership model. Under the Council text, each partnership should be based on a SRIA agreed between the partners. The SRIA should set out thematic priorities, expected scientific and socio-economic impacts, and a roadmap of planned activities and milestones. Where partnerships develop market deployment activities and pathways, the SRIA should include a deployment agenda agreed between the partners.
The link with the European Competitiveness Fund is another important feature. The Council position clarifies that Horizon Europe should support research and innovation activities, while other Union programmes, in particular the European Competitiveness Fund, may support other activities such as deployment. Partnerships are therefore expected to operate within a broader EU funding landscape, with clearer attention to synergies, added value and the avoidance of overlaps or duplication.
The Council text also introduces stronger implementation and simplification provisions. Actions in the context of European Partnerships should be implemented through single award procedures. The relevant Union granting authorities or other bodies entrusted with budget implementation would manage these procedures, including the call, evaluation, selection and monitoring processes. This matters as many partnership calls, especially co-funded calls, currently involve several layers: a central transnational call, national or regional funding rules, eligibility checks, commitment procedures and sometimes different reporting requirements. A single award procedure therefore points towards a more harmonised and centrally managed implementation model, where beneficiaries experience the partnership call more like one integrated Horizon Europe-style procedure, rather than a patchwork of parallel national procedures. This is intended to reduce administrative burden and implementation fragmentation for beneficiaries, while improving transparency, monitoring and data collection. Member States would remain responsible for their financial contributions in line with national rules and procedures, but the overall call and award process would be managed at EU level or by another entrusted implementation body.
A lifecycle approach for Partnerships
The Specific Programme further develops the lifecycle approach. European Partnerships should follow a clear lifecycle covering identification, selection, implementation, monitoring and phasing out of Union funding. During implementation, they should ensure transparent governance arrangements, continuous openness to new partners, transparent priority-setting, flexibility through timely revision of key documents, continuous monitoring and detailed information on call evaluation processes and results for the Programme Committee.
The Council also introduces more specific requirements on data and innovation ecosystems. Partnerships should include a data strategy ensuring that data created during the partnership remain available for at least ten years after its end, in line with FAIR data principles. Where relevant, partnerships should also develop strategies to promote the inclusion of SMEs and scale-ups in the innovation cycle.
Phasing out and transition planning are given stronger emphasis. European Partnerships should include an upfront implementation plan and a strategy for phasing out Union funding. In the absence of renewal, they should implement appropriate measures based on phasing-out actions identified in their transition strategies. The Specific Programme text also states that partnerships should launch their final calls before 31 December 2034 and undergo an independent assessment, taking account of the ex-ante transition strategies, to determine whether their objectives have been met, whether the partnership approach remains suitable and whether the initiative continues to be relevant for Union policy priorities.
The Council position also adds stronger accountability provisions. In case of non-compliance with the requirements set out for European Partnerships, the Commission may reduce, suspend or terminate Union funding, or take other appropriate measures, with Member States to be informed in due time.
For European Partnerships, the message is therefore twofold. On the one hand, the Council position confirms their continuing importance in the next Framework Programme as instruments for coordinating research and innovation investments across Europe. On the other hand, it signals higher expectations: partnerships will need to demonstrate strategic relevance, European added value, openness, transparent governance, strong partner commitments, effective monitoring and credible transition planning from the outset. The move towards a tripartite model and centrally managed single award procedures also indicates a stronger emphasis on joint ownership, simplification and harmonised implementation.
The Council’s position is partial, as financial and horizontal issues are still being discussed in the broader MFF negotiations. It now forms the Council’s mandate for negotiations with the European Parliament. The final budget and detailed rules will depend on the overall agreement on the 2028-2034 MFF.