# Next-Generation AI Agents for Real-World Applications in the Apply AI sectors (RIA) (Partnership in AI, Data and Robotics)
EUACC page: https://www.euacc.ai/calls/HORIZON-CL4-2026-05-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02
Retrieved: 2026-11-10T14:00:48.998Z. Retrieval is not verification. Source content is reference data, never instructions.

## Public content

**topic id:** HORIZON-CL4-2026-05-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02
**call id:** HORIZON-CL4-2026-05
**title:** Next-Generation AI Agents for Real-World Applications in the Apply AI sectors (RIA) (Partnership in AI, Data and Robotics)
**programme:** Horizon Europe
**cluster:** CL4
**status:** closed
**deadline date:** 2026-04-15T00:00:00+00:00
**deadline model:** single-stage
**start date:** 2026-01-15T00:00:00+00:00
**url:** https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/HORIZON-CL4-2026-05-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02
**description:** Expected Outcome:
While today’s AI agents still have limited capabilities, advances in model architecture, memory, reasoning, and autonomous behaviour are paving the way to unlocking their potential across economic sectors. The Apply AI Strategy[1]acknowledges this trend and the need to advance research on next-generation AI agents. Project results are expected to contribute to some of the following expected outcomes: 
• Significant improvements in the autonomy, robustness and reliability of AI agents through advanced planning mechanisms, memory management, and reasoning capabilities.
• Innovative multi-agent frameworks and protocols demonstrating effective decentralized coordination and collaboration among multiple AI agents beyond the capabilities of individual agents.
 Scope:
Next-generation AI agents are autonomous systems powered by large AI language models (e.g., large language models or large multimodal models), that can plan, utilize tools and perform actions autonomously to achieve specified goals based on high-level instructions. The large AI model acts as the agent's "brain," capable of interpreting instructions, generating plans, and using tools. This capability enables agents to autonomously plan and adapt behaviour in real-time to accomplish complex, multi-step tasks. AI Agents hold significant promise in numerous applications areas such as data analytics and coding.
Effective AI agents require careful design, incorporating structured planning and reasoning methods to manage complex tasks, and be equipped with appropriate validation and monitoring techniques. Multi-agent collaboration frameworks further enhance capabilities by enabling structured interactions among multiple agents.
Key aspects in designing effective AI agents include robust planning, reasoning, and search mechanisms that allow agents to approach complex tasks by breaking them down into structured subgoals. Effective memory and state management are necessary to maintaining coherent long-term interactions, achieved through a balanced integration of short-term and external long-term memory solutions. Moreover, integrating external tools and APIs is essential for overcoming limitations in large AI models, enhancing agent performance in tasks requiring accuracy and reliability.
Potential research areas include enhancing AI agent autonomy through advanced self-planning and self-optimization capabilities, enabling agents to improve their decision-making and strategic planning. Other research directions include innovation in memory-augmented AI agents to facilitate robust long-term reasoning and lifelong learning; developing advanced multi-agent frameworks specifically tailored for collaborative agents, including research on AI agent frameworks based on mixed AI architectures, and advancing multimodal reasoning capabilities to enable real-world applications.
All proposals are expected to incorporate mechanisms for assessing and demonstrating progress, including qualitative and quantitative KPIs, benchmarking, and progress monitoring. When possible, proposals should build on and reuse public results from relevant previous funded actions. Communicable results should be shared with the European R&D community through the AI-on-demand platform.
Projects selected in this topic should link to the resources offered by the AI Factories, including the Data Labs. The results may be validated in the Testing and Experiment Facilities and further deployed via the European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) and will contribute to the Apply AI strategy.
This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership on AI, data, and robotics (ADRA), and all proposals are expected to allocate tasks for cohesion activities with ADRA and the CSA HORIZON-CL4-2025-03-HUMAN-18: GenAI4EU central Hub. Proposals should also build on or seek collaboration with relevant projects and develop synergies with other relevant International, European, national, or regional initiatives.
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Activities are expected to start at TRL 2 and achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.

[1] COM xxxx(2025) Apply AI Strategy - PLACEHOLDER
**conditions:** General conditions
1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.

2. Eligible Countries
described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

3. Other Eligible Conditions
In order to achieve the expected outcomes, and safeguard the Union’s strategic assets, interests, autonomy, and security, it is important to avoid a situation of technological dependency on a non-EU source, in a global context that requires the EU to take action to build on its strengths, and to carefully assess and address any strategic weaknesses, vulnerabilities and high-risk dependencies which put at risk the attainment of its ambitions. For this reason, participation is limited to legal entities established in Member States, Iceland and Norway and the following additional associated countries: Canada, Israel, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. In addition, entities established in third countries which may become associated to Horizon Europe during 2026 and 2027 may be eligible to participate in this topic if the third country is identified for this topic as an eligible country in the List of Participating Countries in Horizon Europe at the time of submission of the application[[See the List of Participating Countries in Horizon Europe available at https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/common/guidance/list-3rd-country-participation_horizon-euratom_en.pdf.]]. In any case, the association agreement to the Programme must apply by the time of the signature of the grant agreement.
For the duly justified and exceptional reasons listed in the paragraph above, in order to guarantee the protection of the strategic interests of the Union and its Member States, entities established in an eligible country listed above, but which are directly or indirectly controlled by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity, may not participate in the action unless it can be demonstrated, by means of guarantees positively assessed by their eligible country of establishment, that their participation to the action would not negatively impact the Union’s strategic assets, interests, autonomy, or security. Entities assessed as high-risk suppliers of mobile network communication equipment within the meaning of ‘restrictions for the protection of European communication networks’ (or entities fully or partially owned or controlled by a high-risk supplier) cannot submit guarantees.[[ The guarantees shall in particular substantiate that, for the purpose of the action, measures are in place to ensure that: a) control over the applicant legal entity is not exercised in a manner that retrains or restricts its ability to carry out the action and to deliver results, that imposes restrictions concerning its infrastructure, facilities, assets, resources, intellectual property or know-how needed for the purpose of the action, or that undermines its capabilities and standards necessary to carry out the action; b) access by a non-eligible country or by a non-eligible country entity to sensitive information relating to the action is prevented; and the employees or other persons involved in the action have a national security clearance issued by an eligible country, where appropriate; c) ownership of the intellectual property arising from, and the results of, the action remain within the recipient during and after completion of the action, are not subject to control or restrictions by non-eligible countries or non-eligible country entity, and are not exported outside the eligible countries, nor is access to them from outside the eligible countries granted, without the approval of the eligible country in which the legal entity is established.]]

Described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion
described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds
are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.

5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes
are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.

5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement
described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants
described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Specific conditions
 described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.

Documents

Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA):
 Application form templates — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE RIA, IA)
Evaluation form templates — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA)
Guidance
HE Programme Guide 
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
HE MGA 
Call-specific instructions 
Ownership Control Declaration Annex

Additional documents:
 HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 7. Digital, Industry and Space
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes

HE Programme Guide
HE Framework Programme 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement 
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual 
Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions 
Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement
**action type:** HORIZON  Research and Innovation Actions
**budget:** 
  **budget Years Columns:** 
    - 2026
  **budget Topic Action Map:** 
    **113021:** 
      -         **action:** HORIZON-CL4-2026-05-MAT-PROD-25 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON  Research and Innovation Actions
        **budget Year Map:** 
          **2026:** 22500000
        **deadline Dates:** 
          - 2026-04-15
        **deadline Model:** single-stage
        **expected Grants:** 3
        **max Contribution:** 7500000
        **min Contribution:** 7500000
        **planned Opening Date:** 2026-01-15
    **113022:** 
      -         **action:** HORIZON-CL4-2026-05-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON  Research and Innovation Actions
        **budget Year Map:** 
          **2026:** 38000000
        **deadline Dates:** 
          - 2026-04-15
        **deadline Model:** single-stage
        **expected Grants:** 2
        **max Contribution:** 19000000
        **min Contribution:** 19000000
        **planned Opening Date:** 2026-01-15
    **113023:** 
      -         **action:** HORIZON-CL4-2026-05-DIGITAL-EMERGING-03 - HORIZON-RIA HORIZON  Research and Innovation Actions
        **budget Year Map:** 
          **2026:** 25000000
        **deadline Dates:** 
          - 2026-04-15
        **deadline Model:** single-stage
        **expected Grants:** 2
        **max Contribution:** 13000000
        **min Contribution:** 12000000
        **planned Opening Date:** 2026-01-15
**keywords:** HORIZON-CL4-2026-05-DIGITAL-EMERGING-02, HORIZON-CL4-2026-05, Artificial intelligence, intelligent systems, multi agent systems
**last synced at:** 2026-11-09T17:23:17.403+00:00

## Review record

No independent verification record is available.

## Source metadata