In this episode I sit down with Science|Business editors Goda Naujokaitytė and Florin Zubascu to cut through the noise on FP10 (Framework Programme 10)—from the Commission’s proposal to double down on research funding to how Pillar II is planned to be “self-standing, but tightly connected” to the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF). We talk numbers, the leaked “competitiveness fund” concept, and what “joint programming” could mean in practice for work programmes under the ECF policy windows (clean transition, health/biotech, digital/space/defence). We also look at the gaps in the text that Council and Parliament will press the Commission to clarify.

We then zoom in on the politics: the ERC presidency term idea that raised eyebrows, the MSCA community’s push for stability, and the recurring balance between bottom-up excellence and top-down competitiveness. Finally, we set expectations for the multi-annual budget (MFF) haggle, why research often becomes a bargaining chip against agriculture/cohesion, and what a realistic outcome might look like versus today’s proposal—plus what the research community should watch over the next 6–12 months. If you advise, apply or coordinate in Horizon Europe today, this is your primer on the road to FP10 in 2028.

Time codes:

00:01:57 Introduction

00:05:31 Fly in

00:09:27 How we got here - background

00:32:56 Political dynamics inside the Commission

00:54:09 ERC & MSCA independence debate

01:06:21 What's next?

01:16:31 Reflections

01:21:40 The toughest challenge