Mendel University in Brno 

Horizon Europe is the EU's key research and innovation funding programme for 2021-2027 with a budget of €95.5 billion

Horizon Europe is organized into three pillars:

Pillar I: Excellent Science

The first pillar of Horizon Europe fosters high-quality research. Primarily, it focuses on supporting cutting-edge research projects managed by individual principal investigators from around the globe, facilitating the mobility of outstanding researchers, and providing top-tier research infrastructures. The first pillar is divided into three key segments:

• European Research Council (ERC): the premier European funding organisation for excellent frontier research. It funds creative researchers of any nationality and age, to run projects based across Europe. The ERC offers 4 core grant schemes: Starting Grants, Consolidator Grants, Advanced Grants and Synergy Grants. With its additional Proof of Concept Grant scheme, the ERC helps grantees to explore the innovation potential of their ideas or research results.
• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA): funding research and innovation initiatives aimed at advancing the careers of top researchers. This is achieved through fostering mobility and providing innovative doctoral and postdoctoral training opportunities.
• European research infrastructures: the goal is to strengthen Europe by providing access to world-class research infrastructures. This initiative aims to integrate these infrastructures into a cohesive European research and technology landscape, ensuring accessibility and fostering excellence in research.

Pillar II: Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness

Pillar II builds on the societal challenges addressed under Horizon 2020, confronting significant global issues and focusing on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aimed at enhancing people's lives and safeguarding the planet for future generations.Pillar II isdivided into six clusters:

• Health

• Culture, creativity and inclusive society

• Civil security for society

• Digital, industry and space

• Climate, energy and mobility

• Food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture and environment

Pillar III: Innovative Europe

The third Pillar focuses on enhancing innovation performance, facilitating the transfer of innovations, and scaling up innovation across Europe. Its goal is to stimulate and support the creation and dissemination of groundbreaking innovations, positioning Europe as a global leader in translating scientific advancements into innovative businesses. Pillar III is divided into:

• European Innovation Council (EIC)

• European Innovation Ecosystems

• European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT)

An important priority for the Czech Republic are projects that fall under the Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area (ERA) section. The European Commission views widening participation as a crucial opportunity for EU-13 countries to actively engage in Horizon Europe Framework Programme projects, thereby bolstering their standing within the ERA. Key mechanisms for achieving this include TEAMING, TWINNING, and ERA Chairs initiatives.