The European Commission has announced more than €210 million in extra funding for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, saying the money will support over 700 additional researchers to build their careers in Europe.
The funding boost will go to two parts of the programme — MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships and MSCA Doctoral Networks, the Commission informed on Thursday.
The extra money was announced in Brussels by Ekaterina Zaharieva, the Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, at an event marking 30 years of the scheme.
Demand for places has risen sharply, with the 2026 MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships call receiving 21,627 applications from researchers worldwide.
Budgets rise for 2026 and 2027
The Commission said the budget for Postdoctoral Fellowships will reach €434 million in 2026 and rise to €459 million in 2027.
Doctoral Networks will receive €628 million in 2026 and €645 million in 2027.
On current estimates, the Commission said the 2027 Postdoctoral Fellowships call could support more than 1,800 postdoctoral researchers, while the 2027 Doctoral Networks call could support more than 2,000 doctoral candidates.
It estimates a further 700 researchers and candidates will be added across the programme as a result of the new funding.
The announcement comes after the Commission adopted an amended Horizon Europe work programme for 2026–2027 on 29 September.
Horizon Europe is the EU’s main research and innovation funding programme, running from 2021 to 2027 with a budget close to €100 billion.
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, set up in 1996, have supported more than 150,000 researchers, including 23 Nobel laureates.
The programme has grown from supporting around 800 researchers a year to around 8,000 annually.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “Researchers are choosing Europe,” adding that the additional funding would strengthen the EU’s commitment to research and help ensure societies and economies can benefit from “cutting-edge knowledge, ideas and innovation.”
