Position on the Proposal for Horizon Europe 2028–2034 and the Budget Expenditure Tracking and Performance Framework

We in GENDERACTIONplus welcome the Commission’s proposal for Horizon Europe 2028–2034 Framework Regulation and Specific Programme and the accompanying proposal for a regulation establishing a budget expenditure tracking and performance framework and other horizontal rules for the Union programmes and activities.

In particular, we strongly support:

• The increase in the overall R&I budget, reflecting the recognition of research and innovation as critical to Europe’s competitiveness, resilience, and societal well-being.
• The harmonisation of horizontal principles across the EU budget, and in particular Gender equality as outlined in Article 7 of the proposal for a regulation establishing a budget expenditure tracking and performance framework and other horizontal rules for the Union programmes and activities, which strengthens gender equality and other fundamental rights as cross-cutting commitments.
• The explicit inclusion of Horizon Europe, and of the European Competitiveness Fund, in the list of programmes in which gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting are to be systematically implemented, with corresponding gender equality tracking indicators and scores, as part of Annex IV and Annex I respectively of the proposal for a regulation establishing a budget expenditure tracking and performance framework.
• The commitment of the Horizon Europe 2028-2034 Framework Programme to fundamental rights, academic freedom, ethics and integrity, and the principles and values of the European Research Area and the Pact for Research and Innovation (recitals 4 and 18 of the Horizon Europe Regulation proposal).

This vision aligns with President von der Leyen’s political priorities for her second mandate and the recent and influential Draghi Report, with its emphasis on values as Europe’s raison d’être:

“The EU exists to ensure that Europeans can always benefit from these fundamental rights… The only way to meet this challenge is to grow and become more productive, preserving our values of equity and social inclusion.”

We also acknowledge recital 18 in the Horizon Europe regulation proposal that the programme will promote freedom of scientific research, gender equality, and open science as foundational principles while noting its non-binding nature.

To further advance these commitments, and to be legally compliant with the gender mainstreaming requirements laid out in the proposal for a Regulation establishing a budget expenditure tracking and performance framework and other horizontal rules for the Union programmes and activities, we call for the following enhancements:

• An explicit reference to ensuring gender equality and providing for gender mainstreaming in Article 5 of the Horizon Europe Regulation (COM(2025) 543 final) on horizontal principles.
• Explicit inclusion of gender equality and gender mainstreaming, including the integration of the gender dimension as a default requirement, as an operational objective in Article 2 of the Horizon Europe Specific Programme (COM(2025) 544 final). While gender equality appears among the guiding values, it must also be articulated as a concrete goal with corresponding interventions and targets.
• Strengthening gender balance throughout the programme: a target of 50% representation of women across all advisory boards, expert groups, and evaluation committees should be adopted, not only for the EIC Board, as currently specified in Article 12, Item 5 of the Specific Programme.
• Maintaining and strengthening the Gender Equality Plan (GEP) eligibility criterion: following the highly impactful introduction of the Gender Equality Plan eligibility criterion in Horizon Europe (2021–2027), it is vital to continue and enhance this requirement. To this end, Article 21 Eligibility of proposal for a regulation establishing Horizon Europe (COM(2025) 543 final) should explicitly require public bodies, universities, and research organisations from Member States and Associated Countries to have a GEP in place, in line with Article 16 of the proposal for the regulation for establishing a budget expenditure tracking and performance framework (COM(2025) 545 final).
• Expanding the ethics provisions in Article 22 of the proposal for a regulation establishing Horizon Europe 2028 – 2034 to include specific references to ethical working conditions, including the prevention of gender-based violence and abuse, particularly targeting the protection of early-career researchers.
• Ensuring the translation of Art. 25-Award criteria and selection of the proposal for a regulation establishing Framework Programme into in the General Annexes to the Work Programme with continuity of the “ex aequo” award criterion which prioritises proposals promoting gender balance when scores are equal. This must be retained to incentivise meaningful action on gender equality.
• Setting a target of 10% of Horizon Europe funding allocated to activities explicitly contributing to gender equality as one of the horizontal principles set out in Chapter 2 of the proposal for a regulation establishing a budget expenditure tracking and performance framework and other horizontal rules for the Union programmes and activities, to be included in Annex I on intervention fields and indicators.

These measures are essential not only to ensure that Horizon Europe continues to foster scientific excellence, but also to uphold and advance the EU’s core commitments to equality, inclusiveness, and sustainability. The proposed framework offers a crucial opportunity—but it is only a starting point. We must do better.

We cannot afford to go backwards. The progress made under Horizon Europe 2021–2027, especially the introduction of the Gender Equality Plan eligibility criterion was a major achievement that created impact, as assessed by several reports, and we must build on this achievement.

We are committed to working closely with allies across the EU—including the Commission, the national governments, MEPs, and across our R&I communities —to ensure that the final outcome is stronger and more ambitious than the proposal on the table today.

Date: 18 July 2025

Contact: Marcela Linkova, GENDERACTIONplus coordinator, [email protected]