EIC in Horizon Europe 2028-2034: Sneak Peek into the Future Funding Framework

Last updated: 13 October 2026

The European Innovation Council (EIC) wants a bigger, more autonomous role in Horizon Europe 2028-2034, the EU’s next research and innovation framework programme, also known as FP10. Its goal is to back high-risk deep tech all the way from early research to scale-up.

In a statement published on 15 September 2026, the EIC Board calls for a significantly larger EIC budget, stronger powers for EIC Programme Managers, protection of the EIC Fund and a ring-fenced budget for defence and dual-use technologies. It also wants the EIC to stay free to identify and fund emerging technologies that are not yet priorities of the proposed European Competitiveness Fund (ECF).

The timing matters. The Council of the EU agreed its partial negotiating position on Horizon Europe on 26 June 2026, and on the ECF on 16 June 2026. The EIC Board cautiously welcomes the Council’s position and says most, but not all, of its recommendations have been taken up. It warns that the many new elements in the Commission proposal and the Council position could weaken the EIC’s impact if they are not clarified and implemented properly. The European Parliament’s position is still awaited, and the overall budget is now being fought over in the EU’s long-term budget (MFF) talks.

These proposals are not final. This article reflects the EIC Board’s position during the Horizon Europe 2028-2034 negotiations. Key questions remain open, including Programme Manager autonomy, scale-up financing, defence safeguards and the size of the EIC budget.

Key takeaways

• The EIC Board wants a significantly larger EIC budget and a separate EIC Work Programme under Horizon Europe 2028-2034.
• EIC Open should keep its larger share of the budget at all maturity stages, alongside more strategic, Programme Manager-led EIC Challenges.
• Defence and dual-use activities should be ring-fenced, with their own budget, rules and specialist staff.
• EIC Transition funding without calls and stronger follow-on support could make the innovator journey more continuous.
• The EIC Fund should stay intact, reuse exit proceeds, and keep the Scaleup Europe Fund inside the EIC if it succeeds.
• Nothing is final: the budget is still under negotiation, and on 10 October 2026 the Council presidency proposed a cut to Horizon Europe.

Where do the Horizon Europe 2028-2034 negotiations stand?

Here are the key milestones so far:

What could change for deep-tech companies under the future EIC?

The Board wants an integrated EIC that supports innovators across their whole journey, from research to scale-up. In practice, that could mean:

• EIC Open would keep supporting bottom-up, high-risk ideas in any field.
• EIC Challenges could become more strategic and more actively managed.
• EIC Programme Managers could get more freedom to design Challenges and manage portfolios of related projects.
• EIC Transition funding could become less dependent on separate competitive calls.
• The EIC Fund could provide more continuity as companies move towards later-stage growth.
• Defence and dual-use technologies could get a dedicated budget, tailored rules and specialist expertise.
• The EIC and the European Competitiveness Fund could work in complementary ways across the innovation cycle.

Taken together, this points to a less fragmented model in which promising technologies get more connected support as they mature. However, the statement does not confirm that these changes will be adopted, or explain exactly how each mechanism would work.

EIC defence and dual-use funding: from a 2026 pilot to a ring-fenced budget?

The EIC Board supports funding dual-use projects and wants the EIC to play an active role in emerging and breakthrough defence technologies, including through support for defence start-ups and scale-ups.

It also calls for EIC defence activities to be ring-fenced, with a separate budget and bespoke implementation rules, as with the June 2026 EIC defence call. It adds that the EIC will need Programme Managers, agency staff and investment professionals with defence expertise.

This builds on a shift that has already happened. On 17 June 2026, an amendment to the EIC Work Programme 2026 opened the EIC Accelerator and STEP Scale Up to dual-use innovation. At the same time, the EIC announced the dedicated EIC Step Scale Up Defence call: a €100 million budget for direct equity investments of up to €30 million in defence companies. The call opened on 30 June 2026 and closes on 28 October 2026. According to the EIC, it is the first time an EU funding programme has invested direct equity in defence companies.

The Board’s position suggests this 2026 shift could become a permanent, distinct part of the future EIC, rather than defence being treated as civilian deep tech with possible military applications. Note, however, that the Council’s position refers to “limited” support for defence applications with enhanced checks and balances. The Board lists defence safeguards among the issues still to be settled.

What this could mean for defence and dual-use companies

Deep-tech companies with credible civilian and defence applications may need to think about defence market access earlier in their strategy. In practice, that means assessing:

• Whether the technology has a credible dual-use application.
• Whether defence is a real market for the company, not only a potential end user.
• How regulation, procurement and commercial positioning differ between civilian and defence markets.
• Whether the company needs specialist defence expertise, partners or investors.

The statement does not define future eligibility criteria, the size of a dedicated defence budget or the detailed rules for accessing support.

EIC Open vs EIC Challenges: what could change?

The Board wants to keep the EIC’s mix of Open and Challenge-driven funding. It also wants the current, higher share of the budget for EIC Open to be maintained at all maturity stages.

This matters because the Board is defending the EIC’s ability to fund technologies that policymakers have not yet identified as strategic.

So the future EIC may become more strategic without becoming fully top-down. EIC Open could remain the route for unexpected or unconventional breakthroughs, while EIC Challenges focus resources on defined priorities. The final balance between Open and Challenge funding has not yet been decided.

EIC Challenges and Programme Managers: a more ARPA-like model

The Board supports the Commission’s proposal for ARPA-like Challenges and an enhanced role for EIC Programme Managers: more freedom to define Challenges, build portfolios of related projects and actively manage them.

It supports a two-step model:

• Policymakers set broad guidelines for potential Challenge topics, agreed with Member States through comitology.
• Programme Managers turn those guidelines into specific Challenges and manage their implementation, informed by external experts.

The Board argues that this separation matters: strategic policy priorities should be agreed with Member States, while Challenge design and delivery should stay agile and led by Programme Managers. It also calls for a separate EIC Work Programme, based on the Board’s advice.

This suggests EIC Challenges could become less like conventional calls for proposals and more like actively managed technology portfolios.

If adopted, this could let the EIC back its strongest projects over time and build critical mass in strategic technology areas. The Board says it will advise on the details, including the policy mandate, oversight and accountability of Programme Managers. The new Programme Manager approach is one of the issues it says remain outstanding.

Could EIC Transition funding become available without calls?

The Board wants follow-on support, including EIC Transition funding without calls, to become part of how the EIC operates. Today, a team with promising results from an EIC Pathfinder project generally has to apply for EIC Transition through a separate call and a new evaluation. Under the Board’s approach, promising projects could receive follow-on support without waiting for a new call each time.

This would reduce funding gaps between research, technology validation and commercial development. It could be particularly relevant for deep-tech projects with long development cycles.

The Board itself says the implementation details still need to be clarified before the next programme starts. The statement does not explain which projects would qualify, how decisions would be made or whether some form of competitive assessment would still apply.

How could the EIC and the European Competitiveness Fund work together?

The Board supports stronger synergies between the EIC and the future European Competitiveness Fund (ECF). However, it is clear that these synergies must not limit Programme Managers’ freedom to choose Challenges, including in higher-risk areas that are not yet on the ECF policy agenda.

The Board proposes that intelligence from the EIC’s work on emerging technologies should feed into ECF programming, including through the proposed Observatory on Emerging Technologies. The ECF could then provide follow-on and complementary support through collaborative projects, partnerships and financial instruments.

This suggests a possible division of roles:

• The EIC identifies and develops emerging, high-risk technologies early.
• The ECF supports wider collaboration, financing and industrial deployment as technologies mature.

In other words, the EIC would help Europe spot what may matter next, and the ECF would help turn validated strategic technologies into wider European capability. The relationship is still being negotiated, but the Board’s message is clear: coordination should strengthen the EIC’s risk-taking, not restrict it.

EIC Fund and Scaleup Europe Fund: a more integrated scale-up pathway

The Board wants to avoid a fragmented landscape in which companies move between disconnected EU funds as they grow. It argues that the future programme should:

• Protect the integrity of the EIC Fund and build on its existing infrastructure.
• Avoid creating new, competing EU-level funds.
• Allow revenues from exits to be reused by the EIC Fund for follow-on funding.

The Board notes that the Scaleup Europe Fund compartment is progressing, with significant founding private commitments and EQT appointed as fund manager. It strongly recommends that, if the fund succeeds as an EIC model, it should stay within the EIC. This points to a more continuous financing pathway from breakthrough innovation to later-stage growth. The Board also plans to advise on how the EIC Fund could evolve, including:

• Faster investment decisions.
• A shift from building the portfolio to actively managing it.
• Closer partnerships with other investors.

The Board points to the EIC Fund’s track record: more than €5 billion of co-investment crowded in, over 1,000 co-investors, and a role in four of the five largest EU quantum funding rounds in 2025. Its message is not simply “more capital”, but a connected funding structure that helps European deep-tech companies keep scaling.

What should innovative companies watch next?

The direction is becoming clearer. The future EIC could be larger, more actively managed and more focused on funding continuity, with a stronger role in strategic technologies, defence, dual-use innovation and scale-up finance. Companies should watch for decisions on:

• The final Horizon Europe and EIC budget in the MFF negotiations.
• The balance between EIC Open and EIC Challenges.
• The powers and accountability of Programme Managers.
• The design of EIC Transition funding without calls.
• The scope of, and safeguards for, defence and dual-use support.
• The future of the Scaleup Europe Fund within the EIC Fund.
• The relationship between the EIC and the European Competitiveness Fund.

None of these outcomes is confirmed. The EIC Board is setting out the model it wants to protect and develop. The final Horizon Europe 2028-2034 framework, expected to start in January 2028, will decide how much of it becomes reality.

In the meantime, the current programme is still funding. The EIC Accelerator remains open to dual-use projects. Contact us if you want to learn more about the open calls for 2026 and 2027.

Source: EIC Board, EIC Board statement on Horizon Europe (2028-2034) negotiations, dated 11 September 2026, published 15 September 2026. Read the official EIC statement

Planning an EIC or Horizon Europe application? Talk to our expert team. We’ll help you choose the right funding route, strengthen your strategy and prepare for the opportunities ahead, under the current programme and Horizon Europe 2028-2034.

Contact our team

Frequently asked questions – Horizon Europe 2028-2034

1. What could change for the EIC under Horizon Europe 2028-2034?

The future EIC could become larger, more actively managed and more connected across the innovation journey. The EIC Board is calling for a significantly bigger budget, stronger Programme Manager roles, more strategic EIC Challenges, Transition funding without calls, ring-fenced defence and dual-use support, and closer links with the European Competitiveness Fund. These changes are still under negotiation.

2. When will Horizon Europe 2028-2034 (FP10) be approved?

The EU aims to agree to the 2028-2034 long-term budget by the end of 2026 and adopt the Horizon Europe legal acts in 2027, so that the programme can start in January 2028. The Council agreed its partial position in June 2026; the budget and the European Parliament’s negotiations are still open.

3. What is the budget for Horizon Europe 2028-2034?

The Commission proposed €175 billion, and the European Parliament has called for €200 billion. On 10 October 2026, the Council presidency proposed a 9.6% cut to the Commission figure. The final budget, including the EIC’s share, depends on the overall MFF agreement.

4. Will the EIC fund defence and dual-use technologies under Horizon Europe 2028-2034?

The EIC Board supports funding dual-use and breakthrough defence technologies, with ring-fenced defence activities, a separate budget, tailored rules and specialist staff. The Council’s position supports limited defence support with enhanced checks and balances. Since June 2026, the EIC Accelerator and STEP Scale Up are already open to dual-use projects.

5. Could EIC Transition funding change after 2027?

Yes. The EIC Board wants Transition funding without calls to become part of how the EIC operates, creating a more continuous route from research to validation and commercialisation. The mechanism and selection process have not yet been defined.

6. How could the EIC and the European Competitiveness Fund work together?

The Board sees them as complementary. The EIC would identify and support emerging, high-risk technologies, and its insights, including through a proposed Observatory on Emerging Technologies, would inform ECF priorities. The ECF would then provide follow-on support through collaborative projects, partnerships and financial instruments.