Swedish participation in Horizon Europe has increased

The government’s target for Swedish participation in the EU’s Horizon Europe framework programme is 3.7 percent. New statistics in Vinnova’s report “Horizon Europe Yearbook 2025” show that we are well on our way to achieving this. Sweden has gone from 3.3 percent in 2024 to 3.5 percent in 2025.

“We are finally seeing an increase in the total funds that Sweden secures from Horizon Europe. This shows that our efforts to encourage more researchers in Sweden to apply for EU research funding are delivering results. From a basic research perspective, the continued high participation in Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) and the ERC is particularly encouraging. The Swedish Research Council will now continue to work actively to further increase Sweden’s approval rate for MSCA and ERC,” says Director General Katarina Bjelke.

Most EU funds go to academia

Nearly 60 percent of the funds awarded go to academia. This is a higher proportion than in many other countries.

Proportion of funds awarded by organisation type in Sweden:

• Academia: 58.2 percent
• Industry: 22.8 percent
• Research institutes: 9.2 percent

“Increased Swedish participation in Horizon Europe means not only funding for research in Sweden but also valuable networks. In the long run, it also strengthens Swedish competitiveness and knowledge transfer within the EU.”

Sweden ranks eighth on the list of successful countries. The figures in the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (Vinnova) report show that there is significant interest in European research collaboration, but that there are also areas where we can improve on the Swedish side.

EU funds are still available

Horizon Europe has been running for five years, but there is still approximately 25 billion left to allocate over the next two years.

“Together with other public agencies, the Swedish Research Council is now actively participating in the negotiations for the next European R&I Framework programme. This is to ensure that Swedish actors get the best possible Return on Investment and that European excellence is further strengthened,” says Katarina Bjelke.

Report: Horizon Europe Yearbook 2025 (Vinnova) External link.

Analysis of Swedish participation in the EU's partnership (Vinnova) External link.