Communicating about your EU-funded project

Do you receive EU funding to carry out a project under Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, or any other EU programme? Then you should not forget to communicate about your project and its outcomes – consult this informative flyer.  

Making your project visible is crucial to reach out to relevant stakeholders, build new collaborations or find your way into the market. It is also a legal obligation under your grant agreement. 

Project website 

Most EU-funded projects are required to have a web presence (either a dedicated website or to be part of an existing website). It should provide details about the project objectives, actions, progress and results.  

Social media 

We also encourage you to share your project's news and stories via social media. The European Research Executive Agency (REA) has a Twitter account, and all REA-managed projects are welcome to engage with it. There is also a dedicated Twitter account for Horizon Europe Cluster 6 – Food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture and environment.  

You can use this search tool to find further EU social media accounts. 

Success stories 

If your project has achieved outstanding results relevant to EU citizens, then it could be promoted via some of the European Commission’s free-of-charge channels such as: 

• Cordis Results in Brief,  
• CORDIScovery podcasts,  
• Research & innovation success stories, 
• Horizon Magazine or  
• during events such as the R&I Days. 

Liaise with your Project Officer for further information. 

Obligations for recipients of EU funding programmes 2021-2027

Since 2021, all recipients of EU funds have the legal obligation to explicitly acknowledge that their action has received EU funding to ensure visibility and transparency.

This requirement applies to all EU-funded programmes, including Horizon Europe (Article 17 of the model grant agreement), the Research Fund for Coal and Steel and the Promotion of agricultural products programme.

The obligation requires all beneficiaries, managing authorities and implementing partners of EU funding to display prominently the EU emblem and funding statement on all the communication materials and dissemination activities. It also applies to any equipment, infrastructure, vehicle, supply or result financed by the grant, and all types of public outputs such as patent applications, standardisation of results, contacts with the media and other public statements.

How to display the EU emblem and funding statement

• Make sure to display the European flag (official EU emblem), do not use the European Commission logo
• Add the funding statement next to the official EU emblem (in local languages, where appropriate)
• Projects that receive 100% EU funding should use funding statement 1 – Funded by the European Union
• Projects that are not funded by the EU at a rate of 100% are considered co-funded and must use funding statement 2 – Co-funded by the European Union
• Third-party funding (including associated partners from other national sources) can be acknowledged by displaying relevant logos next to the EU emblem. The principle of proportionality should be respected.

Support kit for EU visibility

• Operational guidelines for recipients of EU funding
• 10 tips on how to communicate and raise visibility about EU funding
• Download centre for EU emblem and the funding statement (for REA-managed projects only use of the two funding statements portrayed above (as applicable).
  Please disregard the sections ‘NextGenerationEU’ and ‘INTERREG’.
• Online funding statement generator

Obligations for recipients of funding under Horizon 2020 (2014-2020)

As specified under Article 38 of the grant agreement, any communication activity related to the programme, including infrastructure, equipment and major results must mention EU funding:

• Make sure to display the European flag (official EU emblem), do not use the European Commission logo
• Add the reference to the specific fund (in local languages, where appropriate).

Support kit for EU visibility

• Download the EU Emblem (do not use the European Commission logo!)
• Graphics guide to the EU emblem (Interinstitutional style guide)

Social Media

For social media related guidance on Horizon 2020  projects, please refer to the Social media guide for EU funded R&I projects. Horizon Europe related guidance will be available soon.

Communication, dissemination and exploitation are interlinked concepts that are sometimes being confused. Check this handy flyer to find out what is the difference between them.  

If you receive funding under Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe, please also consult our page on dissemination and exploitation. 

Be aware that European Commission dissemination and exploitation services are free of charge in case you are approached by aggressive publishers offering expensive services. 

Since May 2018, anyone who collects or in any way uses personal data of individuals for professional purposes must comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Find out more about EU data protection rules for businesses and organisations.