ERC President says Commission funding proposal for Horizon 2028-2034 is "a minimum"

Maria Leptin, President of the European Research Council (ERC), told MEPs on 26/02/2026 the European Commission's proposal for the budget for the Horizon Europe research framework programme of €175 billion should be seen as "a minimum, not a final ambition".

She was addressing the EP committee for research, industry and energy (ITRE) during a public hearing on the Horizon Europe programme for 2028-2024. In July 2025, the European Commission proposed a budget of €175bn, an increase of 87% compared to the current programme budget of €93.5bn.

Leptin said she feared that, as had happened historically, the Commission’s budget proposals would be reduced during negotiations between the member states and MEPs. If that happened again, it would send the message that Europe talked about sovereignty and competitiveness, but hesitated on sustained investment, she said.

The ERC president pointed out that other regions, like the US or China, spend more per researcher, have a greater number of top-tier research institutions and are ahead of Europe in key critical technologies. "Strengthening the…