EU Funding Deadlines Calendar 2026: All Horizon Europe, EIC, and Digital Europe Dates

The Horizon Europe 2026-2027 Work Programme was adopted in December 2025, unlocking over €14 billion in new calls. This calendar compiles every major EU funding deadline for 2026 across all programmes, so you can plan your submissions without trawling the EU Funding & Tenders Portal manually.

Key Dates at a Glance

The table below lists the most important single deadlines across all major programmes. Use the quarterly sections below for full call details.

Q1 2026: January to March

Q1 contains several important early deadlines, primarily for Erasmus+ actions, EIC Accelerator Batch 1, and Digital Europe calls. Most of these have now closed as of 23 February 2026.

Q2 2026: April to June

Q2 is the busiest deadline window in the first half of 2026. Several Horizon Europe clusters close their two-stage calls, MSCA programmes open, and the Innovation Fund Net-Zero Technologies call closes on 23 April.

Q3 2026: July to September

Q3 is the heaviest deadline period of the year. The majority of Horizon Europe single-stage calls, MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships, ERC Advanced Grants, and LIFE all close between July and late September.

Q4 2026: October to December

Q4 closes out the main Horizon Europe call windows for 2026, with EIC Pathfinder Challenges, EIC Accelerator Batch 6, MSCA Doctoral Networks, and the final Horizon Europe cluster deadlines all falling in this period.

Programme Summaries for 2026

Horizon Europe

The 2026-2027 Work Programme covers €14 billion across six thematic clusters plus the European Research Council, MSCA, and EIC. The majority of single-stage calls open in Q1-Q2 and close in September-October 2026. Two-stage calls typically run from December 2025 (Stage 1) through April 2026 (Stage 2). See the official Horizon Europe Work Programmes page for the full call portfolio.

European Innovation Council (EIC)

The EIC 2026 Work Programme offers €1.4 billion across three instruments:

• EIC Accelerator (€414M): Six Stage 2 cut-off dates in 2026. Stage 1 accepts applications year-round with 4-6 week processing. Targets SMEs and startups with deep-tech innovations.
• EIC Pathfinder (€262M): Open call deadline 12 May; Challenges deadline 28 October. For multi-disciplinary research teams pursuing visionary science.
• EIC Transition (€100M): Bridges Pathfinder results and commercialisation. Grants up to €2.5M. Check the EIC 2026 Work Programme for Transition call deadlines.

Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

MSCA 2026 offers over €1.25 billion across four instruments. Key deadlines: Staff Exchanges (16 Apr), COFUND (8 Apr), Postdoctoral Fellowships (9 Sep), Doctoral Networks (24 Nov). All deadlines are at 17:00 Brussels time. Full work programme available at marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu.

European Research Council (ERC)

ERC 2026 grant deadlines: Starting Grants closed October 2025; Consolidator Grants closed January 2026; Advanced Grants 27 August 2026; Proof of Concept cut-offs on 17 March and 17 September 2026. Note that ERC Starting Grant 2027 will open later in 2026 - monitor the ERC Apply page for the opening date.

Innovation Fund

The Innovation Fund 2025 Net-Zero Technologies call (IF25-NZT) covers large-scale (capex >€100M, €1.2B budget), medium-scale (capex €20-100M, €300M budget), and small-scale (capex €2.5-20M, €100M budget) projects. Submission deadline: 23 April 2026 at 17:00 CET. Applications via the CINEA portal.

LIFE Programme

The LIFE 2026 Call for Proposals will be published on 21 April 2026 and presented at info days from 28-30 April. Submission deadline is expected in September or October 2026. The call covers all four sub-programmes (Nature & Biodiversity, Circular Economy & Quality of Life, Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation, Clean Energy Transition). Grants range from €1-5M with 60-95% EU co-financing depending on project type. Monitor cinea.ec.europa.eu for the confirmed deadline.

Erasmus+

The 2026 Erasmus+ Programme Guide was published in November 2025. Most KA1 (mobility) actions had a 19 February 2026 deadline via National Agencies. KA2 Cooperation Partnerships closed 5 March 2026. Later deadlines include KA1 Accreditation (29 Sep) and a possible second KA1 round on 1 October for selected National Agencies. Always check your country's National Agency as dates vary.

Digital Europe Programme

Digital Europe's 9th set of open calls, covering AI, advanced digital skills (including the ELEVATE Academies initiative for AI, cybersecurity, quantum, virtual worlds and semiconductors), cybersecurity, and EDIH (European Digital Innovation Hubs), closed on 3 March 2026. Additional calls are expected later in 2026. Budget for the 9th set: approximately €204 million. Monitor digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu for new call announcements.

How to Prepare for Upcoming Deadlines

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources: Official EU Funding & Tenders Portal (ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders), Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027 (adopted December 2025), EIC Work Programme 2026, MSCA Work Programme 2026-2027, ERC Work Programme 2026, CINEA Innovation Fund 2025 NZT Call, CINEA LIFE 2026 Calls, EACEA Erasmus+ 2026 Programme Guide, European Commission Digital Europe Programme 2026. Deadlines are current as of 23 February 2026 and subject to change.