First calls under Horizon Europe to be launched by the European Research Council

February 23, 2021 by European Union Leave a Comment

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

The European Commission today presented the Work Programme 2021 for the European Research Council. This is the first work programme under Horizon Europe, Europe’s new Framework Programme for Research and Innovation for 2021-2027. It includes three main calls for proposals for frontier research actions for a total amount of €1.9 billion. The European Research Council (ERC) offers grants to top researchers from anywhere in the world who are ready to come or to stay in Europe to pursue their breakthrough scientific and technological discoveries that can form the basis of new industries, markets, and social innovations of the future.

Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Research, Innovation, Culture, Education and Youth, said: “I am very pleased that we have today adopted the Work Programme of the European Research Council. This important step paves the way for launching calls that support top researchers and their teams to pursue frontier research at different stages of their careers. The first call will support young researchers across Europe who are starting their own independent research team or programme. They are the future of European research.”

Professor Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, President of the European Research Council, said: “The ERC Scientific Council is pleased that under Horizon Europe the European Research Council can continue to back Europe’s researchers and their most innovative ideas. We will be able to issue more grants than ever before. Thanks to the European Commission’s commitment, and the outstanding dedication of the Executive Agency staff, we are now ready to launch the 2021 Starting Grant call on 25 February.”

First calls for proposals in 2021

Over the entire long-term EU budget 2021-2027, the European Research Council is set to receive over €16 billion from Horizon Europe, which represents an increase of 22% vis-à-vis Horizon 2020.

Within the new series of competitions, the first call to be launched is the European Research Council’s Starting Grants, which will support top researchers to start their own independent research team or programme. The call will be launched on 25 February, with a budget of €619 million and a deadline of 8 April.

Other grant competitions will follow according to the work programme’s calendar: on 11 March the call for Consolidator Grants for researchers who are consolidating their own independent research team or programme will open, with a budget of €633 million. The deadline for applications is 20 April. Finally, on 20 May the European Research Council will launch a call for Advanced Grants for leading advanced investigators, with a budget of €626 million and deadline on 31 August.

Due to the transition to the new Framework Programme, the Synergy Grants are not available under the 2021 Work Programme. The award of Synergy Grants is likely to resume under the Work Programme of 2022. The Proof of Concept Grant is currently under revision by the Scientific Council, the governing body of the European Research Council, and therefore does not appear in this Work Programme either.

The 2021 Work Programme also covers other actions and public procurement to allow the Scientific Council to carry out its duties and mandate, including the appointment of independent experts during the evaluation of proposals and the preparation of the calls, for ethics review and for the monitoring of ongoing projects. It also covers the Scientific Council’s obligations to establish the overall strategy of the European Research Council and to monitor the quality of the programme’s implementation from the scientific perspective.

Background

The European Research Council awards grants through open competitions to projects headed by starting and established researchers. As its sole selection criterion is scientific excellence, it strives to attract top researchers from anywhere in the world to come and stay in Europe. So far, the European Research Council has funded over 9,500 top researchers at various stages of their careers, and over 70,000 postdoctoral fellows, PhD students and other staff working in their research teams. An independent review in 2020 found that some 80% of projects funded are scientific breakthroughs or major advances, showing the outstanding quality of this EU-funded research.

Discover more from The European Sting - Critical News & Insights on European Politics, Economy, Foreign Affairs, Business & Technology - europeansting.com

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

© UNDP/Oleksandr Ratushniak A substation in Ukraine damaged during ongoing strikes in the war with Russia.

Ukraine: Drone attacks on Chornobyl are ‘gambling with the safety of millions of people’

September 11, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. A drone strike on the protective structure at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant could have endangered the safety of millions of people, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Alexander De Croo told reporters via video link from Kyiv on Thursday. He is visiting Ukraine, with his mission focused […]

© UNHCR/Dar Al Mussawir Smoke rises above residential neighborhoods in Tyre, southern Lebanon, following an Israeli airstrike. (file)

UN chief demands Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon amid Nabatieh escalation

September 10, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. The Secretary-General has condemned mounting civilian casualties in southern Lebanon and called on Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanese territory, as fighting intensifies in and around Nabatieh. Key points In a statement issued by his Spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, the Secretary-General said he was “deeply concerned” by […]

UN chief demands Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon amid Nabatieh escalation

September 9, 2026

© UNOCHA/Viktoriia Andriievska The aftermath of a drone strike in Kyiv, Ukraine (file). UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk (file) said on Monday that he was "horrified" by the thought of fully autonomous weapons being used in battle.

AI: Türk urges action before it becomes an ‘existential risk to humanity’

September 8, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. UN human rights chief Volker Türk added his voice on Monday to growing calls for greater AI controls, warning that the revolutionary technology could become an “existential risk to humanity” if left unchecked. Without binding rules, independent oversight and clear limits, the technology could become impossible to […]

As wildfires spread north, UN agencies race to help Europe adapt

September 7, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. As the climate warms, the threat of wildfires is spreading in Europe. How can historically cooler and wetter countries prepare? Human activity causes most of the wildfires breaking out across Europe, but their spread, speed and intensity are strongly affected by the warmer, drier conditions associated with […]

© UNICEF-SoP/Crickx People walk down a dusty road in the West Bank carrying belongings.

West Bank: UN rights report warns of forcible displacement from three refugee camps

September 5, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. Israeli security forces forcibly displaced the entire population of three Palestine refugee camps in the occupied West Bank in January and February last year – and continue to prevent their return, in violation of international law, according to a new report by the UN human rights office, OHCHR. […]

©UNIFIL/Tilak Pokharel UNIFIL personnel distribute food kits to displaced families in Saida, Lebanon.

Lebanon–Israel tensions escalate as Gaza sees major aid delivery

September 4, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. Peacekeepers in Lebanon have reported a marked deterioration in the security situation along the Blue Line of separation, with Israeli forces intensifying their military footprint in violation of a landmark Security Council resolution, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Thursday. Meanwhile, in Gaza, humanitarian teams collected hundreds […]

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

World News in Brief: US-Iran war intensifies, aid for Myanmar, casualties in Ukraine

September 3, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. Fighting between the United States and Iran has sharply escalated after a month-long lull, with the two sides exchanging strikes as fears grow over further civilian casualties. The US military struck rocket launchers on an island in the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, days after US […]

© WFP/Hugh Rutherford A family eat lunch in the Bedouin community of Umm Al Khair, West Bank.

Food aid cutback in the occupied West Bank as health fears grow in Gaza

September 2, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. Lack of funding has forced the World Food Programme (WFP) to slash aid to families in the West Bank by half even though needs have more than doubled over the past two years. “We’re running out of funding, and that means that from today, some 200,000 people […]

© UNICEF/Laxmi Prasad Ngakhusi Mud covers Nuwakot district in central-northern Nepal following devastating flash floods.

Nepal flooding deaths surpass 900 as needs climb

September 1, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. The confirmed death toll from Nepal’s catastrophic floods has surged to 903, with more than 4,200 still missing as rescue crews and humanitarian workers battle blocked highways to reach the hardest-hit areas, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Monday. Key points Triggered by a glacier collapse and […]

© WFP/Mohamad Al Hinnawi Brothers sitting outside their family’s tent in Gaza.

Four children killed as separate attacks in Gaza destroy aid supplies

August 31, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. Israeli attacks killed four children and destroyed humanitarian aid supplies in what turned out to be a deadly week in war-ravaged Gaza, the UN emergency relief agency, OCHA, said on Friday. Key points According to UNICEF, the four children – aged two to 16 – were reportedly […]

© UNICEF Buildings are submerged in mud following flash floods in Rasuwa district in central-northern Nepal.

Deadly floods cause widespread destruction in China, Nepal

August 27, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. Severe flooding in China and Nepal caused widespread destruction and mounting death tolls, UN agencies reported on Wednesday as aid efforts deployed to help provide emergency assistance. UN agencies and humanitarian partners are already providing support to local authorities, said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric. “The Secretary-General is […]

This article is published in association with European Investment Bank.

As wars spread, the global food system unravels

August 26, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. A family with four children abandoned its farm in Somalia after armed groups arrived and demanded payments for the right to continue cultivating the land. They walked roughly 100 kilometers to a displacement camp. One of the children died along the way. Carl Skau, the acting head […]

Gaza: Children still at risk despite drop in acute hunger

August 25, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. Among tent cities pitched on the rubble of destroyed homes in Gaza, children are, by one measure, finally getting enough to eat. By another, however, many of them may never fully recover, according to a new study by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released on Monday. Key points Hunger […]

UN Photo/Elma Okic Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Doreen Bogdan-Martin speaks at the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva. (file)

AI for Good: How the UN uses AI to advance human rights

August 24, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. For Ari, a six-year-old boy with learning difficulties in Jamaica, artificial intelligence (AI) opened the door to something many children take for granted: reading a book in his own language. Thousands of miles away, gold miners in Ethiopia are being screened more quickly for tuberculosis, while communities around […]

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Ms. Imane El Maimouni, a 22-year-old fifth-year Moroccan medical student at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Casablanca. She is affiliated with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writer and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on the topic, nor The European Sting’s one.

Who heals the healers?

August 22, 2026

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Ms. Levina Kulembeka, a Medical Doctor from Tanzania passionate about global health. She is affiliated with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writer and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on […]

Middle East: 94 per cent need shelter in Gaza, Israel ramps up demolitions in Lebanon

August 21, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. Ninety-four cent of Gaza’s 2.1 million residents need shelter as Israeli gunfire and strikes continue inside the enclave, UN agencies and peacekeepers warned on Thursday. Key points More than four out of five families currently face critical or catastrophic living conditions, which lack fuel, energy and essential […]

© IOM/Lisa George Flooding in Sudan has displaced 20,000 people since June (file).

Sudan war: 200,000 newly displaced as fighting and floods intensify

August 20, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. Intensifying fighting in Sudan has displaced at least another 200,000 people since late 2025, while destructive seasonal floods are compounding the massive humanitarian emergency there, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Wednesday. In an alert, the agency also warned that relief access has been […]

© UNRWA/Kazem Abu-Khalaf A girl looks out the window of her home in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, where she and other family members were trapped during an Israeli military operation.

Raising alarm over new illegal Israeli outposts, UN condemns attacks, incitement against Palestinians

August 20, 2026

This article is published in association with United Nations. Reports of new illegal Israeli outposts in the occupied West Bank raised alarms at UN Headquarters on Wednesday while the UN rights office called on Israel to condemn its national security minister’s words that incite “violence amounting to atrocity crimes” against Palestinians. Key points “The Secretary-General is […]