The European Commission has officially launched the 2026 calls dedicated to the EU Missions under Horizon Europe.

The Missions represent one of the most strategic instruments of Horizon Europe. They operate as integrated portfolios of actions – including research and innovation projects, policy measures, and systemic initiatives – with the objective of achieving ambitious and measurable results within a defined timeframe that could not be accomplished through isolated individual actions.

The European Commission has identified five Mission Areas, and the currently open calls are:

Supporting the implementation of the Cancer Mission (HORIZON-MISS-2026-02) - Budget: €124.19 million
topic:

• HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-01: Virtual Human Twin (VHT) Models for Cancer Research (RIA)
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-02: Microbiome for early cancer prediction before the onset of disease (RIA) 
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-03: Pragmatic clinical trials to optimise immunotherapeutic interventions for patients with refractory cancers (RIA) 
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-04: Earlier and more precise palliative care (RIA) 
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-05: Boosting mental health of young cancer survivors through the European Cancer Patient Digital Centre (ECPDC) (IA) 
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-06: Development of a research capacity building (CSA) 
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-02-CANCER-07: Improve the Quality of Life of older cancer patients (RIA)

Supporting the implementation of the Adaptation to Climate Change Mission (HORIZON-MISS-2026-1) - Budget: €82.19  million
topic: 

• HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-01: National Adaptation Hubs - Bringing together the national level with the engaged regional and local levels (multi-level governance) (CSA) 
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-02: Facilitating implementation of actionable solutions for climate adaptation of regions and local authorities (CSA) 
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-03: Standardising and supporting climate services for climate adaptation (RIA)
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-04: Bridging the gap between disaster risk management and climate adaptation (CSA)
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-05: Demonstrating solutions to protect and preserve cultural heritage from the impacts of climate change (IA)  
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-06: Improving climate resilience of navigable inland waterways, their surroundings and related water infrastructure (RIA)
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-01-CLIMA-07: Supporting financing of local adaptation actions with combination of public funding and private financing (CSA)

Supporting the implementation of the Restore our Ocean and Waters Mission (HORIZON-MISS-2026-03) - Budget: €115.30  million
topic:

• HORIZON-MISS-2026-03-OCEAN-01: Large-scale demonstration for mapping the distribution and condition of marine habitats to implement the Nature Restoration Regulation (IA)
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-03-OCEAN-02: Addressing aquatic pollution and biodiversity loss through nature positive solutions from source to sea (IA)
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-03-OCEAN-03: By fishers, for fishers: co-management of marine and freshwaters ecosystems and resources (IA)
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-03-OCEAN-04: Towards a European network of ocean technology testing sites (CSA)
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-03-OCEAN-05: Regional (sea-basins) components of the EU Digital Twin Ocean (IA)

Supporting the implementation of the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission (HORIZON-MISS-2026-04) - Budget: €85.50  million
topic:

• HORIZON-MISS-2026-04-CIT-01: Energy efficient urban and sub-urban public transport, complemented by shared mobility (IA) 
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-04-CIT-02: Transition to low-temperature heating solutions in multiapartment buildings (IA)
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-04-CIT-NEB-B4PCCRI-03: Introducing circular economy models in the construction sector, from buildings to city scale (IA)

Supporting the implementation of the Soil Deal for Europe Mission (HORIZON-MISS-2026-05) - Budget: €33  million
topic:

• HORIZON-MISS-2026-05-SOIL-01: Monitoring soil health in practice: equipping stakeholders to sample, analyse, and interpret soil health indicators (CSA)
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-05-SOIL-02: Antimicrobial resistance and antibiotic biosynthesis in soils: developing key understanding and counteractive strategies using a One-Health approach (RIA)
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-05-SOIL-03: Enabling user-centred and open innovation initiatives to enhance soil health in Ukraine (CSA)
• HORIZON-MISS-2026-05-SOIL-04: Leveraging long-term field experiments and other datasets to develop AI-ready decision support systems for sustainable soil management (IA)

Joint Call between the Soil Deal for Europe Mission and the Adaptation to Climate Change Mission (HORIZON-MISS-2026-06) - Budget: €20  million

• HORIZON-MISS-2026-06-CLIMA-SOIL: Joint demonstration of solutions to build soil resilience to extreme weather events and support food security (IA)

The deadline for proposal submission is 23 September 2026, with the exception of:

• Supporting the implementation of the Cancer Mission (HORIZON-MISS-2026-02), which closes on 15 September 2026;

• Supporting the implementation of the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission (HORIZON-MISS-2026-04), which closes on 8 October 2026.

For more information, contact us at info.it@pnoinnovation.com.