Making Horizon Europe work smarter: dialogue on implementation and simplification with Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva

As part of the Commission’s new approach to better implementation and simplification, Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, is engaging directly with stakeholders through Implementation Dialogues.

Practical information

The theme of the dialogue will be implementation and simplification of Horizon Europe, the EU research and innovation programme.

The event will bring together beneficiaries of Horizon Europe, research support offices, university administrations and umbrella organisation active in the EU research and innovation policy to reflect on the progress made, remaining bottlenecks and planned measures for further simplification. It will offer the opportunity to gather direct feedback on key implementation topics and help shape the final phase of Horizon Europe (2026-2027) as well as inform the design of its successor programme.

The centrepiece of the Dialogue will be a set of thematic discussions in three consecutive blocks, focusing on three key steps in the client journey of Horizon Europe:

1. Proposal submission: Gathering feedback on the submission process of proposals in Horizon Europe, as well as options to simplify it.
2. Proposal evaluation: Understanding the experience of applicants with the evaluation process in Horizon Europe, including the selection of experts, as well as possibilities to reduce the burden and streamline the process.
3. Simplified Cost Options: Building on the large-scale introduction of simplified costs options (e.g. lump sums) in Horizon Europe, which has significant simplification potential especially for SMEs and newcomers, participants will be invited to share their experience and suggest measures for improvement.

In-person participation is by invitation only. For online participation, please register here.

Implementation Dialogues are a consultation tool at the political level launched in the spring of 2025. The main purpose is to strengthen and boost European competitiveness by seeking feedback from stakeholders to facilitate the implementation of EU policies and the simplification of EU rules and spending programs. This dialogue is the second one held by Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation.