161st CoR Plenary Session (19 - 20 June 2024)

Today, the EU's innovation performance gives a mixed picture. While the EU has managed to keep its scientific base at the forefront of the global race, it has not been able to disseminate the new knowledge, technologies and solutions created by EU actors across Member States. Consequently, since the early 1990s, the euro area's average productivity rate has lagged behind that of the United States, and the gap in productivity among EU regions signals the existence of an innovation divide. With the adoption of a communication on a new European innovation agenda on 5 July 2022, the European Commission aims to encourage innovators to make better use of EU single market finance opportunities, as well as to attract new private and public investors to reinforce EU financial and capital markets. The communication presents a set of legislative and non-legislative initiatives based on five flagships areas – access to finance; framework conditions for deep tech innovation; tackling the innovation divide; deep tech talents; and improving innovation policies – which cut across the von der Leyen Commission's political priorities.

This Briefing forms part of an EPRS series offering syntheses of the pre-legislative state of play and consultation on key European Commission priorities during the current five-year term. It summarises the state of affairs in the relevant policy field, examines how existing policy is working on the ground, and, where possible, identifies best practice and ideas for the future on the part of governmental organisations at all levels of the EU system of multilevel governance.

Since the adoption of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, research and innovation investment strategies worldwide have been increasingly geared towards the twin green and digital transitions. One objective has been to reinforce the impact of public investment in science and technology by doing more to pool resources and rally various actors, including citizens, behind a specific goal (a concept also known as 'directionality'). Horizon Europe, the ninth EU framework programme for research and innovation (2021-2027), established five 'missions' to be achieved by 2030. These are the EU's long-term, cross-cutting research priorities and they focus on climate change, cancer, oceans and waters, climate-neutral and smart cities, and soil health.

The magnitude of current global challenges, such as the climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, stresses the relevance of joining forces worldwide and pooling human and financial resources to facilitate the creation and dissemination of knowledge and innovative solutions for EU research. In 2021, the European Commission adopted a communication on a global approach to research and innovation – the new European strategy for international cooperation. The participation of stakeholders in international cooperation activities is key to Europe's capacity to expand its scientific and technological leadership – thus far established in the domain of joint exploratory scientific activities, including transdisciplinary initiatives – to also cover technological development and standardisation. European research and innovation players are unambiguously supporting international cooperation for global goods, such as knowledge, the environment and global health.