The first figures for participation and the success rate of project applications submitted by industry two years after the start of Horizon 2020 - the 8th EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation - reveal a partly negative outcome. The decline of the average success rate is due to inter alia cuts in national research budgets and an unchanged budget for the programme. In this context, BDI gives concrete recommendations for improvement – especially with regard to the upcoming Midterm Review of Horizon 2020 in 2016 and 2017.