Brussels – A total of €1.4 billion to promote advanced technological innovation in Europe, with a focus on high-potential start-ups (central to the “deep tech” agenda ) and young, high-potential established companies (scale-ups). The European Commission is launching the 2026 work programme for the European Innovation Council (EIC), the special EU body designed to promote and support all next-generation technologies, supported by a €10.1 billion budget from the Horizon Europe research framework programme.
The new programme focuses on simplified access to finance, substantial investments, and easier access to customers and partners across Europe and beyond. Elements that represent “what European innovators need most,” says the European Commission.
The 2026 Work Programme introduces a simpler, faster application procedure for EIC funds. Starting next year, applying for access to funding will be simpler, with full proposal forms reduced from 50 to 20 pages. The process will also be made faster, with evaluations every two months instead of every six, and more robust, with a more thorough technology assessment that anticipates the due diligence (cost/benefit assessment, ed) required for investments.
The real European novelty, however, is… a US contribution. Also, from next year, pilot projects will be launched under the name “Advanced Innovation Challenges”, inspired by the approach of the US Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), which deliberately invests in innovative technologies. In practice, the EU will support particularly risky and high-yield projects—real opportunities that could put the EU in a leading position—were it not for the fact that neither the moment nor the opportunity is being seized due to the delicate nature of the project.
The EU “often” lags behind in turning ideas into concrete products and businesses, laments Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation. “Europe has the talent, the science, and the ambition to be a leader in deep tech, and the European Innovation Council is here to make this happen.” In this sense, she continues, “we are reducing bureaucracy, accelerating funding, and launching solutions for new challenges.” This work programme, she guarantees, “will help our brightest innovators to move faster, dream bigger, and grow globally, while maintaining their roots in Europe.”
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
