NCP Moldova
National Contact Points Network Moldova
National Contact Points, helps companies and research organisations worldwide with the European Commission's research programme Horizon Europe
Horizon Europe Moldova Events
Events
Provides you access to upcoming events in Horizon Europe and maintains a useful archive
Horizon Europe Moldova News
News
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Upcoming Events

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11/12/2025
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11/12/2025

European Commission Info Day

The European Commission Info Day will be held online on 11 December 2025 and will present the new call topics, which offer opportunities for different types of organisations, for example, universities, research performing organisations, research funding organisations, research infrastructures, academies and learned societies, civil society organisations, researchers’ organisations, tech startups, incubators, science parks, innovation hubs, and regional, national and city authorities.

This Info day will inform interested applicants about the European Research Area calls in the WIDERA Work Programme 2026-2027, Destination “Reforming and enhancing the European research and innovation system”.

The ERA calls include both coordination and support and research and innovation actions, addressing a wide range of policy areas, including research careers, research management, knowledge valorisation, research assessment reform, open science, gender equality and inclusiveness, coordination of R&I funding programmes, science for policy, citizen engagement.

For further information click here.

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17/12/2025
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17/12/2025

Horizon Europe - ERA 2026 Brokerage Event

NCP_WIDERA.NET, the network of National Contact Points for Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area (WIDERA), cordially invites you to the ERA Knowledge Day and Brokerage Event for the new ERA call 2026.

The ERA 2026 Brokerage Event will be held online on 17 December 2025.

The event will be focused on the ERA 2026 call topics specified in the Horizon Europe WIDERA Work Programme for 2026-2027 (please find the draft version here).

The Brokerage Event will provide an opportunity for participants to engage in matchmaking with potential ERA call 2026 participants and stakeholders through pre-arranged bilateral meetings. This aims to identify possible collaborations and streamline the establishment of Horizon Europe ERA project consortia.

Participants will create profiles, including search terms based on the ERA call titles of 2026(please refer to the WP Draft).

Participation in this event is free of charge, and registration is mandatory.

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27/11/2025
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27/11/2025

Webinar: Addressing IP impact and innovation in EU projects

The European IP Helpdesk is organising a webinar on different ways to define professional and systematic IP management in Horizon Europe projects. It requires an advanced level of expertise.

Learning objectives:

  • Impact and  innovation in HEU project proposals

  • Exploitation of project results

  • Business landscape in project proposals

  • Researchers' rights on project results

  • IPR protection for project results

  • State of the art, prior art definition - patent databases (e.g. Espacenet)

  • Support and sources of information on IPR 

You can find more information here and register here.

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26/11/2025
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26/11/2025

The Future of EU Steel Research - How to foster EU steel leadership

Hybrid format  Where: MÜnchengladbach, Germany, and online

On 26 November 2025, the Future of EU Steel Research event will highlight how RFCS-funded projects are transforming Europe’s steel industry through decarbonization, circularity, and industrial symbiosis.

The programme features two thematic sessions:

  • Low to Zero Emission Iron and Steel Production

  • Closing the Loop: Raw Materials, Circularity and Industrial Symbiosis

Participants will be able to discover the latest advances in energy efficiency, electrification, hydrogen-based steelmaking, and innovative scrap recycling. Beyond technical insights, the event as well offers a platform for dialogue between project experts, researchers, and policymakers on how EU research supports industrial transformation.

For more information and registration please access the following website.

 

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News

The Moldovan Office for Science and Technology (MOST) participated on 19 November 2025 in the roundtable organised by the Science|Business Widening Initiative, dedicated to the fifth freedom in the field of research and innovation – a concept gaining increasing importance within Europe’s efforts to strengthen the European Research Area.

The event brought together representatives from across Europe to examine the evolution of the Widening process over the past two decades, with a focus on the countries that joined the European Union in 2004 and on those currently in the enlargement process. Speakers highlighted how the initial vision of the fifth freedom – introduced by former Commissioner Janez Potočnik and recently revived in the Letta Report – has generated significant progress, while also revealing the limitations of a system that remains uneven.

Participants concluded that Widening is no longer solely about closing gaps, but has become a bidirectional approach aimed at strengthening capacities and enhancing cooperation across the entire Union. Discussions also addressed Europe’s ambitions for the coming years, exploring what a genuine fifth freedom could mean for talent, knowledge and innovation. Structural barriers, policy gaps and fragmented implementation were underscored as key challenges, but so were important opportunities: rethinking governance, deepening collaboration and creating more coherent mechanisms for the circulation of excellence.

During her intervention at the roundtable, the Head of the MOST Office, Doinița Ulinici, emphasised:
“For the Republic of Moldova, the fifth freedom means being fully integrated into the European knowledge area — where our researchers can collaborate fully, and where our innovations contribute to Europe’s future.”

Between 10–15 November 2025, the National Horizon Europe Office within the National Agency for Research and Development, represented by Dr. Elena Simciuc, participated in Deep Tech Night, a side event of Web Summit 2025 attended by more than 350 international participants. This event provided an excellent platform to promote the opportunities, tools and benefits offered by the project “Moldovan Horizon Europe Office – Empowering Research, Expanding Horizons (M-HERO)”, funded by the European Union, to the scientific and innovation community of the Republic of Moldova.

Throughout the visit, the M-HERO project was highlighted as an example of institutional modernization, capacity building for Horizon Europe participation, and active integration into the European Research Area (ERA).

This mission has also contributed significantly to:

• increasing the visibility of the Republic of Moldova within European research and innovation networks;

• strengthening collaboration with NCP structures in Portugal;

• expanding international partnerships relevant to the advancement of the M-HERO project;

• facilitating access for Moldovan stakeholders to European initiatives focused on innovation, digitalization and technology-driven entrepreneurship.

This event was carried out under the project “Moldovan Horizon Europe Office – Empowering Research, Expanding Horizons” (M-HERO), funded by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them.

European Commission launched a public consultation on the Advanced Materials Act.

Consultation period: 21 October 2025 - 13 January 2026 (midnight CET time)

More information as well as the link to the questionnaire can be found here.

European Commission launched a public consultation on the European Research Area Act.

Consultation period: 13 October 2025 - 05 January 2026 (midnight CET time)

Topic: Employment and social affairs, Research and innovation, Single market

More information as well as the link to the questionnaire can be found here.

The European Commission has announced that the topic HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-DIGITAL-EMERGING-09 “GenAI4EU Booster” has been cancelled at short notice due to legal concerns.

Officials confirm that the call will be re-opened in the next Work Programme, with updates expected to appear on the Funding & Tenders Portal.

This decision impacts applicants preparing proposals under Cluster 4, particularly in the fields of digital, AI, and emerging technologies.

Stay tuned for the official update and revised timeline.

Highlights

A new way to bring concrete solutions to some of the EU greatest challenges with ambitious goals to deliver concrete results by 2030.

  • EU Missions will deliver impact by putting research and innovation into a new role in combination with new forms of governance and collaboration, as well as citizen  engagement.
  • EU Missions are a coordinated effort by the Commission to pool the necessary resources in terms of funding programmes, policies and regulations, as well as other activities. They aim to mobilise and activate public and private actors, such as EU Member States, regional and local authorities, research institutes, farmers and land managers, entrepreneurs and investors to create a real and lasting impact.
  • EU Missions will support Europe’s transformation into a greener, healthier, more inclusive and resilient continent. 

Mission Starfish 2030: Restore our Ocean and Waters

Targets by 2030: cleaning marine and fresh waters, restoring degraded ecosystems and habitats, decarbonising the blue economy in order to sustainably harness the essential goods and services they provide.

Caring for Soil is Caring for Life

Targets by 2030: at least 75% of all soils in the EU are healthy for food, people, nature and climate. The proposed mission combines research and innovation, education and training, investments and the demonstration of good practices using “Living labs” (experiments and innovation in a laboratory on the ground) and “Lighthouses” (places to showcase good practices).

Conquering Cancer: Mission Possible

Targets by 2030: more than 3 million more lives saved, living longer and better, achieve a thorough understanding of cancer, prevent what is preventable, optimise diagnosis and treatment, support the quality of life of all people exposed to cancer, and ensure equitable access to the above across Europe.

A Climate Resilient Europe - Adaptation to Climate change

Targets by 2030: prepare Europe to deal with climate disruptions, accelerate the transition to a healthy and prosperous future within safe planetary boundaries and scale up solutions for resilience that will trigger transformations in society.

100 Climate-Neutral Cities by 2030 - by and for the citizens

Targets by 2030: support, promote and showcase 100 European cities in their systemic transformation towards climate neutrality by 2030 and turn these cities into innovation hubs for all cities, benefiting quality of life and sustainability in Europe.

European Partnerships bring the European Commission and private and/or public partners together to address additional challenges through concerted research and innovation initiatives, on top of the challenges addressed by Horizon Europe. They are a key implementation tool of Horizon Europe, and contribute significantly to achieving the EU’s political priorities.

By bringing private and public partners together, European Partnerships help to avoid the duplication of investments and contribute to reducing the fragmentation of the research and innovation landscape in the EU.

Find out more about European Partnerships in the Commission’s infographic.

Identifying partnerships

The Commission carried out impact assessments that helped identify the candidates for partnerships.

The portfolio of European Partnerships includes 49 candidates  which have now been taken into the next step of preparations.

The partnership candidates are collected across 5 areas. 

Full details of candidates, draft proposal documents and contact details please see below.

The current list of candidate European Partnerships is found in Annex 7 of the Orientations towards the first Strategic Plan for Horizon Europe.

Results from the structured consultation of EU countries are summarised in the report European Partnerships under Horizon Europe: results of the structured consultation of Member States.

Types of partnership

The Horizon Europe proposal lays down the conditions and principles for establishing European Partnerships. There are 3 types.

Co-programmed European Partnerships
These are partnerships between the Commission and private and/or public partners. They are based on memoranda of understanding and/or contractual arrangements.

Co-funded European Partnerships using a programme co-fund action
Partnerships involving EU countries, with research funders and other public authorities at the core of the consortium.

Institutionalised European Partnerships
These are partnerships where the EU participates in research and innovation funding programmes that are undertaken by EU countries.

These partnerships require legislative proposals from the Commission and are based on a Council Regulation (Article 187) or a Decision by the European Parliament and Council (Article 185). They are implemented by dedicated structures created for that purpose.

Institutionalised partnerships will only be implemented where other parts of the Horizon Europe programme, including other types of partnership, would not achieve the desired objectives or expected impacts.

Documents

Horizon Europe’s next generation European partnerships (PDF File)

Source:
https://ec.europa.eu/info/horizon-europe/european-partnerships-horizon-europe_en

WIDERA NCPs is an umbrella name for the transnational network of National Contact Points (NCPs) for Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area under Horizon Europe.

NCP_WIDERA.NET Project is a 3 years Coordination and Support Action financed by the European Commission and established with the aim to empower the network of National Contact Points (NCP) for WIDERA under the Horizon Europe Framework Programme.

The check-list was developed as a tool for NCPs to help them to review the project proposals in order to help the applicants to develop their project proposals in higher quality. There are included all the conditions / questions published in the WP General Annexes, Application form and Evaluation form

Following a workshop activity which took place in May in Dublin, the report summarises delegates' input on opportunities, barriers and useful support.

In a nutshell, the main conclusions are:

  • From engaging in Horizon Europe, SSH researchers can gain funding, prestige, expansion of networks and opportunity for impact.
  • Social science and arts & humanities should not be understood as a monolith.
  • Reliable partners are a huge resource. Being included in networks might be challenging for newcomers.
  • Early career researchers can benefit from participation in Horizon Europe projects. However, provisions for their inclusion and career-development are not explicitly required nor rewarded by the funder.
  • There are considerable differences among institutions in terms of in-house, opportunities for peer-learning, expertise, capacities and contractual conditions