Additional Funding for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships 2026-27, European Commission.
Over €210 million boost for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions to support more researchers in Europe. The additional funding was announced as part of the Commission’s Choose Europe initiative. It will strengthen the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships and Doctoral Networks in 2026 and 2027 to enable more than 700 additional researchers to build their careers in EuropeAnnounced on 1 October 2026 at the high-level event marking the 30th anniversary of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, the additional funding forms part of the Commission’s broader Choose Europe approach to attracting and retaining research talent.
The top-up comes in response to record demand for opportunities to pursue research careers in Europe. The 2026 MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships call received 21,627 applications from researchers around the world. This is the highest number ever recorded for the programme and the highest number of proposals received for any funding action in more than 40 years of EU research and innovation framework programmes.
It will allow more researchers to benefit from MSCA opportunities and strengthen Europe’s capacity to attract and retain research talent. With more than €1.3 billion foreseen for the MSCA in 2027, the programme will continue to strengthen Europe’s research base, support the careers of world-class researchers and contribute to its long-term competitiveness.
The announcement follows the Commission’s adoption of the amended Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026-2027, which will provide the last MSCA funding opportunities under the current Horizon Europe 2021-27 Framework Programme.
2026 marks the 30th anniversary of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). Since their creation in 1996, more than 150,000 researchers have participated in the programme, including 23 Nobel laureates. What began as a programme supporting around 800 researchers each year has grown into one of Europe’s flagship programmes for research careers, now supporting around 8,000 researchers annually.
