Ethics Review

As in the previous EU Research Framework Programmes, compliance with ethical principles is also of central importance for research projects in Horizon Europe.

It is ensured by the Ethics Appraisal Procedure (Horizon Europe Programme Guide, p. 22ff.), which consists of the following steps:

1. Ethics self-assessment:
   The applicant must complete the "Ethical Issues Table".
2. Ethics Pre-screening/Screening:
   This is done during the evaluation of the proposal by a panel of experts on the basis of the information provided in the proposal.
3. Ethics Assessment:
   If ethically relevant points become clear in the screening, a more detailed analysis is carried out by an expert panel. An Ethics Assessment is always carried out if human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) or human Embryoes (hE) are the subject of research in the planned project.
4. Ethics Check/Review/Audit:
   This takes place during the implementation of the project on the basis of the deliverables and within the framework of discussions. Applies to research activities that have already been classified as ethically relevant in the Ethics Assessment.                                     

The results of the Ethics Review may be included as conditions in the contractual agreements. If ethical criteria are seriously disregarded, an application can be rejected or the funding of an ongoing project can be discontinued.

Please find  further information in "How to complete your ethics self-assessment".