What happened
Türkiye recorded 70 participations in 39 EU Missions projects during 2021–2025, receiving approximately €16.5 million in net EU contributions, according to Horizon Dashboard data cited by the EU Affairs Presidency. The portfolio involved 45 Turkish organisations, including universities, research bodies, municipalities, public institutions, businesses and civil-society groups.
The EU runs five Missions under Horizon Europe: adaptation to climate change; cancer; ocean and waters restoration; climate-neutral and smart cities; and soil health. They are intended to produce measurable outcomes by 2030 and move research into practical testing, deployment and wider adoption.
Türkiye’s largest Mission allocations were approximately €5.80 million for ocean and waters projects and €5.61 million for climate adaptation. It participated in 11 ocean and waters projects, with 21 participations, and eight adaptation projects, with 20 participations.
In the climate-neutral and smart cities Mission, Türkiye had 19 participations across 11 projects and received about €3.01 million. Cancer projects accounted for six participations in five projects, with approximately €1.02 million in EU support. Three soil-health projects received about €754,000, while the jointly funded Path4Med project brought a further approximately €288,000.
Why it matters
The figures show the scale of Turkish participation in EU-backed work on climate resilience, urban decarbonisation, water and marine restoration, health and sustainable land management. For Turkish municipalities, research organisations and companies, the Missions provide a route to test solutions with European partners and participate in demonstration activities.
The Mission model also brings together public and private finance around shared objectives. This can help Turkish participants turn research outputs into applied projects in areas such as heat resilience, coastal adaptation, cleaner seas, sustainable mobility and soil management.
Background
The European Commission’s 2026 interim assessment found that the Missions had made substantial progress towards their 2030 objectives by the middle of their implementation period. It identified coordinated policy and funding tools, practical uptake of research, replication across regions and cities, and mobilisation of investment as central benefits.
Across Europe, the adaptation Mission has 327 signatories to its charter and has begun real-world trials of roughly 1,000 adaptation measures in 185 regions. The cities Mission includes 107 cities aiming for climate neutrality by 2030, with projected reductions of about 199.7 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent.
What's next
The five EU Missions are designed around targets for 2030. Soil Health has established 45 Living Labs and expects to exceed its target of 100 by 2030 as selection processes continue. More than 500 farms, forests and urban locations in 24 countries are already involved in developing and testing sustainable soil-management approaches.
