Certain analyses indicate that Horizon Europe funding success rates show a clear disparity, with northern countries outperforming their southern counterparts in securing grants. For example, Iceland leads with a 23% success rate, while Belgium and Moldova also exceed 22%, demonstrating strong performance in the north and, unexpectedly, in the east. In contrast, most southern countries remain below 18% – including countries like Spain and Italy. The only exceptions in the south are Greece, Bulgaria and Slovenia, which perform slightly better.
Meanwhile, competition for Horizon Europe funding remains intense, with demand far exceeding the available funding. Very high portion of the proposals (around 70% of them) are evaluated as excellent, yet only 16.5% received funding. The UK faces the toughest rejection rate, with 81% of its excellent-rated proposals going unfunded, followed by Cyprus, Luxembourg, and Portugal at 72%.
As Horizon Europe funding remains highly competitive, these findings raise important questions: How can researchers and institutions improve their chances of success, and what further steps can support more balanced participation across Europe?