Unlocking Horizon Europe opportunities for logistics: ALICE welcomes European Commission transparency boost

In July 2025, the European Commission announced a major step forward for transparency in European research and innovation: for the first time, draft Horizon Europe work programmes for 2026-27 are being pre-published in the comitology register during the drafting phase. 

This decision ensures that all researchers and stakeholders can access the same information at the same time, reducing inequalities and giving everyone more time to prepare successful proposals. For many years, draft programmes circulated only informally, giving a select group of organisations early access. The new approach levels the playing field and is expected to raise the overall quality of proposals. 

At ALICE, we strongly welcome this move. Horizon Europe provides unprecedented opportunities for logistics innovation across freight transport, automation, digitalisation, and sustainability. Equal access to draft calls allows our community to transparently and openly work on anticipated priorities, prepare strong consortia, and align innovation strategies with the EU’s long-term ambitions. 

“Until now, as many other European organizations, we needed to do our work in a very untransparent way matching the EC positioning in this issue which created unnecessary and not added value processes and discussions” said Fernando Liesa, Secretary General of ALICE 

For consolidated access to the latest draft work programmes, readers can consult Science|Business Horizon Papers, which continues to gather the sector-by-sector documents and their drafting history in one place. 

Supporting ALICE members in Horizon Europe 

Navigating Horizon Europe requires insight, partners and timing. ALICE supports members and logistics stakeholders throughout this process by: 

• Early insights and guidance: Through the Horizon Europe Programme Group on the ALICE Knowledge Platform, members gain access to draft calls, structured overviews of logistics-relevant opportunities, and the possibility to propose topics for future programmes. 
• From calls to consortia: The Knowledge Platform goes beyond information-sharing, enabling members to showcase capabilities, share project ideas and connect with peers in structured forums. This transforms opportunities into concrete project proposals. 
• Brokerage and information days: ALICE regularly organises events connecting logistics companies with technology providers, research centres and SMEs, helping members find the right consortium and funding instrument to accelerate their innovation roadmap. 

From ideas to impact 

Over recent years, ALICE members have launched and participated in numerous EU-funded projects- including URBANE, DISCO, DELPHI, GreenTurn, FLEXMCS, MODI, AUTOSUP and AUTOMOTIF–addressing zero-emission logistics, digitalisation and automation. 

At Transport Logistic Munich 2025, ALICE and its members showcased innovative solutions emerging from these projects, illustrating how Horizon Europe funding is already delivering real-world impact for freight and logistics. 

Looking ahead 

The European Commission’s decision to make Horizon Europe drafts publicly available is a significant step towards openness and fairness in European research. ALICE will continue to support its members in taking full advantage of these opportunities- bridging the gap from draft calls to successful proposals and projects that shape the future of logistics in Europe.