The European Research Council is the top-level research segment of the Horizon Europe program. It is subdivided into different project types depending on the career stage of the researchers after the dissertation (StG 2-6 years, CoG 7-12 years, AdG >12 years), in which individual researchers form a research group at a host organization and can be funded for 5 years with 1.5 - 2.5 M€. There is also a collaborative project type (SyG), in which up to 4 researchers can be involved and receive a budget of up to €10 million, as well as the so-called proof of concept, in which the results of basic research are further developed in the direction of application.

The European Innovation Council is the counterpart to the ERC on the application-oriented side of research. Three project types cover the entire innovation cycle across all TLRs (Technology Readiness Levels), starting from Pathfinder (basic research) to Transition (prototype development) and Accelerator (market launch)

The thematic area of Horizon Europe is divided into 6 thematic clusters:

• health
• Culture, creativity and inclusive society
• Civil security for society
• Digitalization, industry and space
• Climate, energy and mobility
• Food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture and the environment

The topics on which research is to be carried out are defined by the Commission in two-year work programs. Only cooperation projects are funded here.

The COST research cooperation program has now also been integrated into Horizon Europe. In this oldest EU program in the field of research, no actual research activities are funded, but rather the additional costs incurred through cooperation efforts, such as meetings, conferences, short stays, summer schools, etc. It should be noted that since the new funding period, the inclusion of so-called Inclusiveness Targeted Countries (ITCs, especially Eastern Europe) is essential for this program.

The Eurostars program is co-financed by Horizon Europe. Although this program is primarily aimed at SMEs, which have the coordinator role in the consortium, universities and research institutions can participate as partners. It should be noted that the funding rates vary greatly depending on the type of organization and country.

Europäische Partnerschaften (formerly. ERA-Nets)are funding programs that are usually funded half from Horizon Europe funds and half from national funds. However, submission and processing takes place via a central submission platform. There are a large number of these partnerships, particularly in the field of health which publish a (usually two-stage) call for proposals once a year.

The Innovative Health Initiative is a special partnership in which half of the costs are covered by the healthcare industry and do not come from national funds. There are usually several calls for proposals per year with 1- or 2-stage submission procedures.