The work programme is a European Commission decision setting out which calls will run in a given period, with what budgets and topics. It is the legal basis of a call, so the conditions of a topic have to be checked against the work programme for the year that the call belongs to.
A work programme is adopted by decision of the European Commission and sets everything: the list of topics, budgets, types of action, the calendar. The current Horizon Europe programme covers 2026–2027, was adopted on 11 December 2025 with €14bn, and is the last of the period.
What it consists of
The programme splits into parts: separate ones for MSCA, research infrastructures, each of the six clusters, innovation ecosystems, Widening, missions, horizontal strands – plus a part containing the General Annexes, where the eligibility rules, funding rates, award criteria and procedures live.
The ERC and EIC have their own work programmes, adopted by separate decisions.
Why this matters in practice
Rules change between years, and not cosmetically. Post-PhD windows, resubmission restrictions, page limits, consortium composition – all are set by the programme of a particular year.
Hence the rule: open the work programme of the year your call belongs to. Reading last year's guide is the commonest way to work from rules that no longer exist.
And second: the General Annexes set the baseline, but a topic may derogate. Where a topic has its own conditions, they are stated explicitly – and they prevail.
What changed in 2026–2027
The programme is a third shorter, topics are down 35%, half the call budget runs through lump sums, and some short proposals are assessed anonymously.
Updated 27.07.2026 · Reviewed by: GetGrant editorial team
