Legal provisions of COM(2024)490 - - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2024)490 - . |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2024)490 |
| date | October 22, 2024 |
1. Introduction
The ambition of creating a European Research Area (ERA) as a single market for research, innovation and technology across the European Union (EU) was conceived in 2000 in the context of the Lisbon strategy. In 2009, the Lisbon Treaty formally recognised the ERA as an EU objective, under Article 179 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The ERA should be achieved mainly by: (i) reforming national research policies, systems and regulations; (ii) increasing investment in research and innovation (R&I); and (iii) agreeing on common priorities for R&I investment across the EU.
Enhancing Europe’s scientific and technological base through cross-border cooperation, building critical mass and fostering continent-wide competition strengthens the quality and impact of science and the attractiveness of Europe as a place to be a scientist or an innovator. As Mario Draghi highlighted in the Report on the Future of European Competitiveness (1), R&I are essential for productivity growth, economic development and competitiveness, for creating more and better jobs, and for Europe’s capacity to find more efficiently solutions to challenges such as for the green and digital transitions. The Political Guidelines for the next European Commission 2025-2029 also emphasise the core role of R&I for competitiveness (2).
In a fully effective European Research Area, researchers, knowledge and data would move freely. Europe’s 2 million researchers would benefit from excellent working conditions wherever they were located and have access to top-tier research infrastructures. And innovators would find a supportive environment in which to scale up their innovations.
Significant strides have been made over the past two decades, including the development of European research infrastructures and access to them; the creation of joint research programmes and European flagship programmes supporting research excellence and increasing Europe’s attractiveness to the most promising global talent; the provision of better conditions for researcher mobility; the increased attractiveness of research careers; and more open access to scientific results.
However, as the Draghi report notes, Europe’s R&I system is still marked by considerable disparities and fragmentation between Member States and regions. Over the last years, the best performing EU regions have been eight times more innovative than the least performing ones (3). This is particularly evident in the uneven framework conditions for R&I activities, with public and private investment in research and development (R&D) remaining well below the target of 3% of gross domestic product (GDP). The regulatory and business environments for the deployment of innovation and the growth of innovative companies also vary significantly across Europe.
In its 2020 Communication A new ERA for Research and Innovation (4), the European Commission proposed renewed efforts to overcome the slowdown in ERA development, adapt to the rapidly changing global R&I landscape, and better support Europe’s green and digital transitions. The Pact for Research and Innovation (5) introduced a new policy framework, along with the ERA Policy Agenda, a new governance structure and a monitoring system.
Four years later, increased geopolitical tensions, economic competition and the sharp rise in breakthrough technologies, such as artificial intelligence, call for a sound assessment of the ERA’s progress. This 2024 Communication takes stock of advances since 2020, identifying successes, shortcomings and areas in which further action is required to achieve the ERA's objectives.
2. The ERA priorities: four years on
The 2020 Communication A new ERA for Research and Innovation outlined four strategic objectives, which were endorsed by the Council in the Pact for Research and Innovation:
i. prioritising investment and reforms;
ii. improving access to excellence;
iii. translating R&I results into the economy; and
iv. deepening the ERA.
Based on these objectives, the ERA roadmap detailed 20 specific actions for the 2020-2024 period (6).
To address these objectives effectively and improve coordination among Member States and the European Commission, a new governance structure was established. This new governance structure has three components. The first component is the European Research Area and Innovation Committee (ERAC), which was reaffirmed as the high-level strategic policy joint advisory committee. The second component is the ERA Forum, composed of EU Member States, countries associated with Horizon Europe, stakeholders and the Commission. The ERA Forum coordinates priority setting and draw ups plans for joint actions in a co-creation process (ERA Policy Agenda7). It also facilitates the implementation of these actions via dedicated working groups, initiatives and the exchange of best practice. The third component of the new governance structure is a new monitoring system (8), which was put in place to track progress and assess the impact of ERA actions.
To preserve openness in international research and innovation cooperation, while promoting a level playing field and reciprocity underpinned by fundamental values, the Communication introduced a geopolitical dimension. These principles were strengthened in the 2021 Commission Communication on a Global Approach to Research and Innovation (9) and the 2024 Council Recommendation on enhancing research security (10).
To increase trust in science and help to achieve greater societal impact through the uptake of new ideas and innovations, since 2020 citizen engagement in R&I has also been at the heart of the ‘new ERA’.
The sections below explore the issues addressed by the four objectives, review the progress made since 2020 and identify areas for further action (11).
1. Prioritising investment and reforms
Objective
The European Research Area is about achieving, through collaboration, the necessary scale and efficiency to address Europe’s research and innovation needs effectively. At a time when Europe must concentrate its efforts on areas crucial to its future competitiveness, sustainability and wellbeing, the duplication, substitution and fragmentation of R&I investments and initiatives would be counterproductive. Cross-border cooperation, on the other hand, generates efficiency gains by achieving critical mass through pooled resources.
However, success requires strong political commitment across the Union to identify joint priorities, coordinate policy or regulatory actions, and pool investments. Without a sustained prioritisation of R&I investment at the national level, alongside the establishment of supportive regulations and policies, the ERA cannot be fully effective. This calls for each country to undertake a thorough assessment of its needs, particularly regarding the organisation of its research or university (support) systems, working conditions for researchers, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) management or the overarching business and operating environment for innovative companies, identifying where structural reforms are necessary.
The Pact for Research and Innovation in 2021 called for ambitious yet realistic goals to drive the necessary reforms at national and regional level, with the ultimate target of investing 3% of EU GDP in R&D, with two thirds coming from the private sector. In April 2024, the European Council recognised this target as a key driver for boosting Europe’s long-term competitiveness (12).
Progress
Since 2020, the European Commission has worked closely with Member States to strengthen and better align R&I efforts across the EU. This has been achieved through targeted policy; financial and technical support for structural reforms; and ‘soft’ measures like exchanges of experience and policy dialogues (13).
The Cohesion Policy Funds and the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) have been key instruments enabling the identification of targeted reform needs and action on the framework conditions for R&I. In the period of 2021-2027, EUR 36.5 billion of Cohesion Policy support is allocated to investments for R&I and innovation-related skills through national and regional programmes, each underpinned by place-based smart specialisation strategies (14). The RRF has mobilised EUR 55.6 billion for R&I since 2021 in conjunction with key structural reforms to improve the functioning and performance of Member States’ R&I systems. Of this total, 35.5% is facilitating the green transition, while 9.3% is being directed to R&I in digital technologies. The accompanying structural reforms and complementary investments in the RRF are also expected to contribute significantly to the ERA by strengthening knowledge exploitation, fostering stronger science-business linkages (e.g. in France and Greece), supporting stronger R&I ecosystems through improved services to SMEs and startups (e.g. in Lithuania) or increasing the number of businesses investing in R&I activities (e.g. in Croatia). The R&I investment and reform momentum generated by the RRF has already led to tangible outcomes. For example, Slovakia is bolstering its scientific excellence by consolidating its universities and reforming their governance to ensure that they are better attuned to the economy and societal needs, while Spain amended its Science, Technology and Innovation Law to introduce a target to spend 1.25% of GDP target on public R&D investment by 2030. Horizontal R&I investments account for a significant share of the total R&I investments under the RRF. They include a variety of cross-cutting measures such as strengthening of innovation ecosystems (including through innovation clusters), upgrade of research infrastructures, grants for researchers, support for business innovation including start-ups and SMEs, facilitation of public-private R&I cooperation, and the support of existing or new regional clusters.
To provide hands-on expert support to Member States, both the Horizon Policy Support Facility (15) and the Technical Support Instrument (16) have been mobilised. These two tools have helped to inform the design and implementation of R&I reforms in areas such as: (i) improving public R&D spending on key priorities; (ii) setting up multiannual financial frameworks for the long-term public funding of science; and (iii) strengthening the linkages between science and business. Furthermore, ‘enhanced dialogues’ were initiated in 2022 between interested Member States and the European Commission to improve the articulation of EU and national R&I policies and increase coordination between different departments in charge of R&I (‘whole of government’ approach). The Commission has already organised 14 dialogues with 12 Members States.
Remaining scope for action
Despite this progress, more can still be done to reinforce European collective scientific and technological capacity through: (i) greater policy coordination on joint priorities between ERA countries; (ii) the sustained prioritisation of R&I investment at national level; (iii) supportive regulations and policies for R&I; and (iv) stronger monitoring of the effectiveness of the actions.
As highlighted in the last European Semester Spring Package (17), several Member States still need to implement structural reforms to improve conditions for science and innovation. Concerning the RRF, whilst implementation and disbursements have been accelerating, progress varies across Member States. All Member States need to continue their efforts to implement their respective RRP in full before the end of 2026, when the Facility is due to expire (18).
In 2022, R&D intensity in the EU stood at 2.3%, well below the 3% ambition, and that of our main international competitors such as the US at 3.6%, Japan at 3.4%, South Korea at 5.2% or China at 2.6%. R&I support and investments vary considerably across Member States ranging from 3.47% to 0.46% of GDP (), with only five countries reaching the 3% target. The reason for this gap comes mostly from low private investments in R&D in Europe and insufficient specialisation in high-tech sectors (“the so-called European medium-technology trap”).
Regulatory barriers impeding business innovation and the financing, scale-up and deployment of innovations remain to be tackled. There is notably scope to strengthen the syndication of European investors for breakthrough innovation, for instance through trusted investor networks, and bolster the European markets for innovations through public procurement or standardisation policies.
Actions to further promote knowledge and technology transfer from academia to the private sector, including through IPR policy, are also needed in many Member States. This could take the form of organisational changes or the adoption of dedicated incentive schemes, e.g. to encourage mobility between sectors.
In addition to private investment, public R&D investment remains low and insufficiently coordinated at EU level, as 90% of all public R&D is focused on national priorities and the European R&I Framework Programme (Horizon Europe) represents only about 10% of public R&D spending in the EU. In many Member states, Cohesion policy investments in R&I constitute a substantial part of their total R&I investment. In Lithuania, Poland and Latvia – above 30%; in Estonia, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia – above 20%, in Portugal, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Romania, Malta and Slovenia – above 10%. (19) No progress has been made towards achieving the ERA target of directing at least 5% of national public R&D funding towards joint cross-border research programmes or European partnerships. More could also be done to reinforce public research systems by adopting stable and predictable funding schemes, tackling institutional fragmentation and improving the attractiveness of careers in research.
2. Improving access to excellence
Objective
A strong European Research Area relies on a robust scientific base throughout the territory able to secure its long-term capacity to compete globally, but also to keep and attract talent. Research excellence exists everywhere in Europe, produced by researchers of all ages, in all disciplines and in all sectors, but its full potential remains untapped. There are still considerable disparities in the opportunities available to researchers and innovators across the ERA. Some of these disparities are caused by administrative and regulatory barriers that make it difficult for researchers in some regions and countries to access R&I funding, research and technology infrastructures, support structures or collaboration networks.
In a world of increasingly complex technologies, discoveries and innovations are fostered by interactions across sectors, disciplines and geographies. But despite the importance of these interactions, both industry-academia collaboration and cross-border R&I collaboration remain underdeveloped in the EU. Only nine EU Member States feature in the global top 20 for industry-university collaborations (20). Cooperation networks for R&I activities rarely extend across national – or even regional – borders. About 70% of all co-owned patents are the result of collaboration within the same region. Only 13% involve organisations located in two different countries.
The ERA’s objective is to tap into the EU’s full R&I potential and nurture talent wherever it is found, thereby ensuring that all Member States can both contribute to and benefit from the scientific knowledge and technologies created in the EU. Doing so requires (i) sustained investment in R&I capacities throughout the Union including by leveraging available instruments such as the widening scheme under Horizon Europe, the RRF and the Cohesion Policy funds; (ii) mobilising different levels of policy action at EU, national and regional level; and (iii) developing expertise in facilitating access to and the management of research projects.
Progress
The European Union supports building cross-border and cross-sectoral R&I cooperation networks through its collaborative projects funded by Horizon Europe, representing close to three quarters of the budget awarded. Horizon Europe also supports the development of stronger R&I capacities in specific Member States (21) through its widening actions (22). With an investment of over EUR 1 billion, the widening actions have: (i) supported the creation or modernisation of centres of excellence in collaboration with leading institutions from different countries (Teaming); (ii) established excellent scientists and their teams in a widening institution (ERA-Chairs); and (iii) strengthened regional innovation ecosystems, by creating linkages between academia, businesses, governments and civil society (Excellence Hubs). The so-called widening countries received 14% of the Horizon Europe budget compared to 8% under the predecessor programme (2024 data), demonstrating an increase in their capacity to access the programme and compete successfully for funding. Horizon Europe also supports the training, career and skills development, mobility and networking of researchers through the COST actions and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. Moreover, Cohesion policy is one of the main sources of innovation support for building R&I capacities and strengthening the ecosystems, in particular in regions classified by Regional Innovation Scoreboard as moderate and emerging innovators (mostly corresponding to the Cohesion policy's transition and less developed regions). The establishment as of 2024 of Regional Innovation Valleys (23) under Horizon Europe and Interregional Innovation Investment (I3) Instrument under Cohesion Policy aims to harness the full innovation potential across Europe, connecting less and more innovative regions and addressing social challenges through cutting edge technologies.
Individual country plans under the RRF also contribute to cross-border projects and multi-country outcomes, with for instance investments in the Lithuanian plan aiming to strengthen genetic research in order to facilitate participation in the EU cross-border health project "1+ Million Genomes". Similarly, the Finnish RRP features investments to promote research on the production and storage of clean hydrogen and projects linked to European cooperation networks.
In order to strengthen synergies between different levels of policy action at EU, national and regional level for reinforced access to excellence from the whole of Europe, a forum has been created for exchanging practices and setting joint policy priorities between R&I ministries and managing authorities in charge of regional development funds / initiatives. In addition, practical guidelines (24) for the implementation of synergies between key policy instruments, notably Horizon Europe and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), were published in 2022. This has yielded some promising results. Managing Authorities under Cohesion Policy in several Member States have established schemes that enable single beneficiary projects awarded the Seals of Excellence under Horizon Europe - projects evaluated as excellent but unable to secure funding due to budget constraints - to access alternative funding through ERDF programme support. Malta and Lithuania have started in 2024 pioneering the transfer of resources from ERDF towards Horizon Europe to fund high-quality proposals awarded a Seal of Excellence. Member States such as Italy are also mobilising funding from ERDF to support the participation of their entities to Horizon Europe partnerships.
In addition to Horizon Europe, the ERA Forum gathering Member States representatives and key stakeholders also allows to identify actions to reinforce research management capabilities.
Remaining scope for action
Despite the progress made since 2020, barriers remain to fully exploiting Europe’s R&I potential, with the latest edition of the European Innovation Scoreboard (25) reflecting sizeable disparities between countries. There is scope to further strengthen and better connect the R&I ecosystems of all European countries and regions to enable greater access to excellence by all European talents and make Europe an attractive place to perform research and be an innovator.
In particular, there is scope to (i) provide better information on available support at EU, national and regional level through efficient structures; (ii) greater visibility of the diversity of available talent throughout Europe; (iii) more openness in R&I cooperation networks in terms of disciplines, sectors and geographies; and (iv) further simplification of administrative processes for accessing financial or technical support for newcomers or for cross-border or cross-sector mobility.
3. Translating research and innovation results into the economy
Objective
For the ERA to support competitiveness, improve the quality of EU citizens’ life and address societal challenges such as the green and digital transitions, investments made in R&I should lead to concrete results deployed and taken up by the market. According to data from the European Patent Office, only one third of patented inventions by European universities or research and technology organisations are used commercially. Making better use of the results of R&I investments and translating them into products and services of economic and societal value is essential to drive future European growth.
The objective is to reinforce the deployment and uptake of European innovation on the markets by acting on all aspects of the innovation system at EU, national and regional level: policy coordination, regulatory environment, financing, IPR management, standardisation, infrastructure, human capital, and public and private demand for innovation. Many of these aspects depend on the completion of the single market and the capital markets union (26), where progress is being made.
Progress
In 2022 the Commission adopted its Communication on a New European Innovation Agenda (27). The Communication contained plans for a set of flagship initiatives together with a roadmap to position Europe at the forefront of the new wave of deep tech innovation and start-ups. A report on the state of play of implementation of the 25 actions contained in the Agenda was published in March 2024 (28).
To establish a unified approach across EU countries to maximising translation of R&I results into solutions that benefit society, a Council Recommendation on guiding principles for knowledge valorisation (29) was adopted in 2022. The guiding principles target national, regional and local policymakers and cover all elements of the R&I systems that can be mobilised to reinforce innovation deployment. These elements include support structures, funding schemes, provision of training and skills, intellectual asset management, etc. Detailed guidance for practitioners and stakeholders is set out in the Codes of Practice on intellectual asset management, standardisation, industry-academia co-creation and citizen engagement (30). A repository provides stakeholders with best practice examples from the implementation of this guidance to reinforce the framework conditions for the economic exploitation of R&I results (31).
At the policy coordination level, in order to support the alignment of R&I investment agendas at EU and national levels for the development and uptake of innovative technologies for the green and digital transformation of industries, the Commission, together with ERA Member States, industry representatives and R&I stakeholders, developed joint roadmaps providing guidance on the development and uptake of industrial technologies from basic research to deployment. The roadmaps give a comprehensive view on the most relevant technologies, together with an overview of current schemes and financial instruments to help bring these technologies to market. The roadmaps can be used to inform decisions taken by industry, research organisations or public authorities. ERA Industrial Technology Roadmaps were developed for low-carbon technologies in energy-intensive industries, on circular industrial technologies, and human-centric R&I approaches in industrial technologies. The results of the industrial technology roadmaps fed into relevant transition pathways for European industrial ecosystems (chemicals, construction, and textile). A set of technology demonstration projects, for example in the field of clean technologies, followed these roadmaps with a view to leveraging follow-up investment to bring these technologies to market (32). Furthermore, the Strategic Energy Technology Plan (33) has enabled the Commission and Member States to develop joint R&I agendas in areas such as solar energy. The implementation (34) of these joint R&I agendas is supported by the Clean Energy Transition Partnership, (35) which enables 30 national, regional and international funding agencies to align priorities, pool budgets and implement joint calls.
In addition to this support for reinforced policies for innovation deployment across Member States, action was also taken through Horizon Europe to provide better support to innovative companies. The industrial partnerships under Horizon Europe continued to support key sectors such as electronics, transport, health or hydrogen by bringing together industry and academia to accelerate and coordinate investment and deployment (36). These partnerships complement wider efforts to develop supply chains through industrial alliances (37) and incentivise investment through Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI). Another key initiative of Horizon Europe is the European Innovation Council (EIC), which helps to translate excellent deep tech research into breakthrough innovations through its Transition scheme. The EIC has also succeeded in ‘crowding in’ over EUR 3.50 of additional investment into deep tech start-ups and SMEs for every euro invested through the EIC Fund under its Accelerator scheme. The development of the EIC Fund has made the EIC the biggest investor in deep tech in Europe. With 200 investment decisions so far under Horizon Europe worth over EUR 1.5 billion in total, and through co-investments with the EIC Fund, an ecosystem of deep tech investors is emerging across Europe. The EIC now has strong portfolios in critical technologies for Europe, including artificial intelligence, quantum and semiconductors, and biotech.
In January 2024, the Commission launched the AI innovation package to boost startups and innovation in trustworthy AI (38). So called AI Factories will bolster access to Europe’s EuroHPC supercomputers (39), data storage facilities, and AI talent. Over 150 European Digital Innovation Hubs help mid-caps, SMEs and public organisations in their digitalisation process and the integration of AI into business processes. Four Testing and Experimentation Facilities are so far operational to enable innovators to test and validate their AI solutions in Manufacturing, Health, Smart Cities and Agrifood. The EU’s Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) (40) supports European industry and investment in critical technologies in Europe. STEP raises and steers funding across 11 EU programmes to three target investment areas: digital technologies and deep-tech innovation; clean and resource-efficient technologies; and biotechnologies. STEP also supports projects growing the skills necessary to develop those critical technologies.
Remaining scope for action
Despite these efforts, the ERA still faces challenges in translating R&I results into societal impact and economic value and in retaining the latter within the EU.
As pointed out in the Draghi report on the Future of European Competitiveness (2024), the innovation capacity of the EU continues to lag behind that of the US, while other major economies are rapidly catching up. The EU shows weaknesses throughout the entire cycle of innovation, as well as in its patterns of sectoral specialisation, with activities concentrated in sectors with medium-to-low R&D intensity. Further actions are needed to improve the environment for innovative companies to grow in Europe and to increase the deployment and take-up of breakthrough digital and green technologies throughout the economy. This can be facilitated through: (i) greater coordination and better targeting of support across Europe, (ii) leveraging and de-risking private investment, creating a critical mass of capital for investments and (iii) effective measures to support the translation of research ideas from the lab into viable commercial propositions.
Although Europe is now creating a significant number of start-ups, they often fail to successfully pass into the initial, rapid-growth stage and from there into the subsequent scale-up phase. In particular, there is still a significant shortfall in the availability of venture capital in Europe, which hinders European innovation and the scale-up in Europe of innovative companies, most pronounced at the scale-up phase (41). The EU continues to lag behind the US and China in the numbers of patent applications it makes, in high-tech exports, and in the number of companies achieving unicorn valuations (above USD 1 billion). As of November 2023, the number of companies with the status of unicorns in the US and China exceeded that in the EU by a factor of 8 and 3, respectively (42).
Overall, more can be done to reap economic benefits from European R&I investments by lowering the remaining regulatory, legal or administrative barriers that make Europe less attractive for many investors and innovators. These barriers include: (i) the various national rules related to startups and scale-ups; (ii) regulatory environments that are not conducive to innovation including the insufficient use of regulatory sandboxes; (iii) fragmented IPR and standardisation policies; (iv) limited use of innovation procurement amongst public procurers; (v) difficulties in attracting and retaining talent; and (vi) the significant disparities in innovation performance between the EU’s regions. Addressing these aspects goes beyond the scope of the ERA and touches on the completion of the single market and the capital markets union (43), in particular to ensure a fully functioning investment flow for innovative companies for all stages from creation to scale-up.
4. Deepening the ERA
Objective
According to the latest Eurostat data, Europe has over two million researchers, i.e. approximately a quarter of the number globally, including 670 000 doctoral candidates. This marks a 45% increase since 2012 and corresponds to 1% of the total labour force in the EU. The free circulation of researchers, knowledge and data is key to creating a more efficient and inclusive European R&I system without overlaps in R&I efforts but with the necessary critical mass. It requires both common framework conditions at EU level and a stronger alignment of national policies applicable to research activities, researchers and research organisations. Deepening the single market in R&I in this way would have positive implications for: (i) the way researchers develop their careers and collaborate; (ii) the way research is conducted and evaluated; (iii) the overall quality and impact of the research. This requires action on several aspects:
- researchers should be able to freely move so they can live and work around Europe, seek employment and enjoy similar working conditions based on EU values and principles such as gender equality and research freedom;
- researchers and research organisations should be able to easily collaborate, access research infrastructure, compete for funding, and access, share and reuse research results;
- research, researchers and research organisations should be assessed in the same effective and responsible manner based on a diversity of outputs, practices and activities.
Progress
In 2023 the Council adopted a Recommendation on a European framework to attract and retain research, innovation and entrepreneurial talents in Europe (44) , including a new European Charter for Researchers (45). The Recommendation is the basis for a common understanding of research careers among Member States and the needs for the free and balanced movement of researchers and innovators across Europe. In particular, the Recommendation highlights the need to offer attractive working conditions, access to world-class infrastructure and to recognise the diverse contributions of researchers through improved assessment practices, for instance by rewarding multi-track careers. A Mutual Learning Exercise, supported by the Horizon Europe Policy Support Facility to foster the exchange of good practices among Member States (46), shows that several Member States have already started implementing reforms in line with the Recommendation.
The Commission has supported the conclusion of the Agreement and Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) (47) as a key milestone for reforming the way research projects, researchers and research institutions are assessed. This reform is expected to raise the quality and impact of research and the attractiveness of research careers by creating strong incentives and rewards for the creation of a more inclusive, open and effective research environment. The reform will make it easier to better recognise the diversity of research practices, activities and outputs beyond traditional metrics based on authoring articles that are published in scientific journals.
To support the implementation of this new European framework, the Commission launched the ERA Talent Platform (48) as the new single information gateway for researchers and research organisations in Europe. In parallel, to facilitate mobility and career development, the Commission strengthened EURAXESS (49), a platform for research job offers and funding, which registers more than 14 000 organisations, 110 000 researchers and an average of over 63 000 job opportunities every year. To support researchers’ skills and intersectoral mobility, the Commission also drew up the European Competence Framework for Researchers (50), taken as a reference tool by an increasing number of institutions and researchers (51). In parallel, in addition to the existing Horizon Europe support provided to up to 65 000 researchers (including 25 000 PhD candidates under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions for their training, skills and career development, mobility across borders, disciplines and sectors), a new smaller Horizon Europe funding scheme has been launched to support intersectoral mobility (ERA Talents). Temporary cross-sectoral mobility is also encouraged by the Next Generation Innovation Talents Scheme.
Protecting European values and principles in the performance of R&I, such as open science, research integrity and ethics, transparency, diversity and gender equality – as laid out in the Pact for Research and Innovation - makes Europe a more attractive place for researchers and businesses from around the world. Since 2020 the Commission has continued to lead the way in promoting the free flow of knowledge and data through its open science policy, with a focus on supporting open access to publications, open data and FAIR (52) data management, public engagement, and the development of skills and training for open science. As of 2024 a total of 21 Member States have put in place a national policy for open access to scientific publications, compared to 14 in 2020, and 13 Member States have a policy on research data management, double the number in 2020.
The European Open Science Cloud is a notable initiative that aims to support collaboration across borders and disciplines. It offers seamless access to quality data and digital services based on the federation of data repositories and services of research infrastructure. It also provides an environment in which researchers and innovators can publish, find and re-use each other’s data and tools. The European Open Science Cloud EU Node, providing a full spectrum of scientific tools for researchers across Europe, became operational in 2024 as the first node of the cloud and will help to address the crucial need for improved data sharing. It will be supported by the Open Research Europe (53) open access publishing service launched by the Commission in 2021 as an optional and cost-free service allowing beneficiaries of EU programmes to comply with their obligation to make their peer-reviewed scholarly research freely available online. To support a responsible use of Artificial Intelligence in science in line with EU values and principles, the ERA Forum developed and published in 2024 living guidelines (54) for researchers, research organisations and funders.
To strengthen gender equality and inclusiveness in R&I policy, the development of a gender equality plan has been introduced as an eligibility criterion for all public bodies, higher education institutions and research organisations applying to Horizon Europe. Another eligibility criterion for Horizon Europe is a requirement to take into account the gender dimension in the content of R&I activities. In addition, thanks to the work done under the ERA Policy Agenda, the Commission has drawn up an EU Baseline on a Strategy for a Zero-Tolerance Code of Conduct to counteract gender-based violence, including sexual harassment. According to data from 2023, there are signs of progress on gender equality in R&I (55). Gender balance has almost been achieved at the level of PhD graduates in Europe (at present slightly more men than women graduate with PhDs). There has also been a slight increase in the proportion of women holding senior academic positions and contributing to scientific publications. Nevertheless, significant gender gaps remain in R&I, particularly in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) (56).
The Commission continuously invests in research and education projects on ethics and research integrity, to assist in the strengthening of the relevant frameworks. To support the research community in promoting research integrity and excellence, various toolboxes and educational materials have been developed. Additionally, the Commission facilitates the operations of several European and global networks on ethics, research integrity and research quality.
As global tensions rise and the strategic importance of R&I grows, ensuring the security of European research is paramount. To address this challenge, the EU must balance openness and collaboration with the protection of critical knowledge and technology. In line with the Council Recommendation on Enhancing Research Security (57), the ERA will strengthen support for researchers and institutions using a coordinated approach, including by setting up a European Centre of Expertise on Research Security. This Centre will serve as a hub for knowledge exchange, risk assessment and capacity building, ensuring that European research remains open, collaborative and secure.
Following calls from the European Parliament, which has adopted a resolution on the ‘Promotion of the freedom of scientific research in the EU’ (58), the Commission has also committed to preparing a possible legal initiative on freedom of scientific research in the EU (59).
For the ERA to be fully effective and support excellent R&I, it also needs world-class research and technology infrastructure to be accessible to European researchers and innovators. Most individual Member States do not have the necessary financial or organisational resources to build, operate and upgrade such infrastructure, whether it is single site, distributed across Europe, or virtual. In order to best support the further integration and strengthening of world-class European research infrastructure, the Commission regularly carries out an assessment of the needs and performance of existing structures. The Roadmap of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) is updated on the basis of such analysis, prioritising the facilities and services that reinforce European scientific and technological competitiveness. The landscape analysis issued by ESFRI in 2024 (60) provides a comprehensive picture of a dynamic research infrastructure ecosystem in Europe, ranging from pan-European ESFRI Landmarks and ERICs (61) to EIROforum (62) members and national research infrastructure. The ESFRI Roadmap alone reflects a total of more than EUR 25 billion of investment and more than EUR 2 billion in operating costs every year, with most funding mobilised at national level. Horizon Europe allocates in its work programme EUR 2.4 billion to research infrastructures, alongside the Cohesion Policy Funds and RRF contributions. Horizon Europe also supports transnational access to European research infrastructure for more than 6 000 researchers every year. The European Commission, via its Joint Research Centre (JRC), also provides access to its unique research infrastructures for research (63) and training and capacity building (64). In recent years, 17 JRC research infrastructures have opened access to more than 560 users from over 130 institutions across 33 countries.
In parallel, technology infrastructure also plays an important role in supporting the innovation capacity and competitiveness of the industrial sector, in the form of pilot lines, testing facilities, clean rooms, demonstration sites and living labs. They can be sector-specific or technology-focused and are usually hosted and operated by research and technology organisations and technical universities. In line with the ERA Policy Agenda, a comprehensive analysis of the policy and funding landscape for technology infrastructure was developed, identifying the main weaknesses and deficiencies. A European approach to technology infrastructure was also tested in two specific areas: (1) setting-up open innovation test beds to develop advanced materials, and (ii) establishing a roadmap for investment in relevant infrastructure for the European aviation sector. Cross-sectoral collaborative work on a comprehensive European strategy to improve the quality, availability and accessibility of technology infrastructure is also ongoing, in particular for SMEs and start-ups.
Universities, in their position at the crossroads of education, research, innovation, and serving society and the economy, are uniquely placed to support the ERA. With the aim of facilitating the adaptation of universities to changing needs and conditions, the Commission adopted a Communication on a European Strategy for universities in 2021 (65). An ERA Forum subgroup has developed recommendations on supporting excellence in R&I in the university sector, and on the institutional change needed.
In order to track all policy developments and their impact on R&I careers, including on skills training and intersectoral mobility, in 2024 the Commission launched a new Research and Innovation Careers Observatory (66) in partnership with the OECD. This will help to identify areas in which further action is needed.
Remaining scope for action
Overall, knowledge circulation within the EU has improved, due to the combined impact of past and recent initiatives. Nevertheless, despite the progress made, several important challenges remain.
Administrative and legal obstacles such as disparities in career development opportunities and the lack of a level playing field across sectors and countries remain. These obstacles make research careers less attractive and hamper the mobility of R&I talent across Member States and between business and academia. There is also still scope for stronger action to develop inclusive gender equality plans and policies that address intersecting inequalities and discrimination on the grounds of gender, gender orientation, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation and other aspects. Moreover, there remain persistent and growing skills shortages in certain areas such as clean energy and artificial intelligence that need to be addressed if Europe is to remain competitive in emerging technologies and harness the full potential of the green and digital transformation.
To ensure that Europe continues to lead the way in addressing the ethical challenges raised by new technologies and ensure the protection of EU values and fundamental rights in research, the ERA should ensure that researchers, research and innovation processes and the R&I system, independent of their source of funding, comply with the highest ethics and integrity standards. This implies ensuring that the respect of EU values is not globally context-dependent so as to notably ensure an Ethics by Design approach throughout the ERA.
Despite making progress in accepting and practising open science, Europe still lacks the necessary federated and interoperable digital infrastructure to share research data and services across countries and scientific disciplines. It also lacks fit-for-purpose copyright, data and digital regulation to unlock knowledge and data currently behind paywalls or insufficiently exploited due to legal challenges. The EU has recently adopted the European Data Governance Act and the European Data Act, which are significant advances in fostering data sharing. (67)
Budget constraints increasingly prevent funding bodies and countries from awarding matching costs for the construction, operation, and upgrading of research infrastructures. Alignment and coordination between EU, national and regional funding is needed to both: (i) reduce the risk of fragmentation and dilution of resources; and (ii) address new challenges linked to transnational access, new user communities, digitalisation, research security, economic competition and regulatory barriers. The technology infrastructure landscape remains fragmented, with a high concentration of facilities in the most industrially developed countries and regions of the EU, while only a few countries have dedicated national policies addressing technology infrastructure and facilitating the use of such infrastructure by companies.
5. Conclusion
The vision for the ‘New European Research Area’ outlined in the 2020 Communication responded to the pressing challenges facing the EU, in particular the need for resilience and recovery following the COVID-19 crisis, combined with the essential role of R&I in underpinning the green and digital transitions. The rationale remains equally valid now, namely to create an environment for research and innovation that: (i) maximises economies of scale and cooperation across the whole of the EU and beyond;(ii) nurtures the full diversity of European talent; (iii) provides European researchers with the best possible working conditions; and (iv) ensures that the excellent results produced by European researchers benefit both the economy and society.
By establishing new governance structures and a policy agenda with concrete actions, the EU injected fresh momentum into the ERA completion, aligning policies, regulatory frameworks and funding programmes. Notable progress has been made through collaboration with Member States, particularly in addressing the fragmentation of R&I systems. Initiatives have focused on careers, infrastructure, open science, building trust through citizen engagement and mobilising resources for thematic cooperation. The joint priority-setting process, co-created between Member States, stakeholders and the Commission, has fostered a sense of ownership and increased commitment to implementation.
Despite this progress, the EU still cannot rely on a fully effective ERA capable of attracting, retaining and nurturing its talent under optimal conditions. As highlighted in the Draghi report, the quality of European research is high but numerous barriers remain. These barriers include: (i) inadequate prioritisation of R&I in public budgets (with only five countries meeting the 3% GDP target for public and private R&D investment); (ii) insufficient coordination of R&I policies across ERA countries; (iii) persistent fragmentation of R&I systems and regulations; (iv) performance disparities; and (v) administrative burden. These factors continue to hinder Europe’s competitiveness. In addition, while the launch of the European Innovation Council under Horizon Europe was a significant step towards supporting deep tech innovators, barriers still exist that make it difficult to deploy and exploit R&I results, and scale up innovative companies in Europe. Completing the Single Market and the Capital Markets Union is key to tackling the innovation gap between the EU and other major economies.
The persistence of these challenges, weaknesses and disparities across and within Member States prevents the EU from leveraging its full scientific potential for the benefit of the economy and society. Enrico Letta’s report on the single market (68) emphasised the crucial role of the ERA, as enshrined in the Treaty, in developing a ‘5th Freedom to enhance research, innovation and education in the Single Market’ and bolstering Europe’s innovation capacity. To build a stronger EU rooted in scientific excellence and technological leadership, continued political commitment and cooperation are key. This would allow the EU to secure its place at the forefront of global innovation, ensuring a future in which its talent thrives and delivers lasting benefits for all.
ANNEX 1: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2020 ERA COMMUNICATION ROADMAP THROUGH THE ERA POLICY AGENDA 2022-24
1()EU competitiveness: Looking ahead - European Commission (europa.eu)
2()https://commission.europa.eu/document/e6cd4328-673c-4e7a-8683-f63ffb2cf648_en
3() Regional Innovation Scoreboard 2023
4() COM(2020) 628 final
5() OJ L 431, 2.12.2021, p. 1–9.
6() More information on the 20 actions and the implementation of the ‘new ERA’ can be found in Annex 1.
7() Council doc. 14308/21.
8() Home | European Research Area Platform (europa.eu)
9() COM(2021)252 final.
10() OJ C, C/2024/3510, 30.5.2024.
11() More information on the implementation of the ‘new ERA’ can be found in Annex 1 as well as on the ERA policy platform, which provides detailed reports on the implementation of ERA actions, both at EU level and at the level of individual Member States: https://european-research-area.ec.europa.eu/
12() https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/m5jlwe0p/euco-conclusions-20240417-18-en.pdf.
13() COM(2024)231 final, p. 9.
14()Cohesion policy is driving the reforms through the enabling conditions that need to be met in order to allow these investments to happen. Smart specialisation strategies provide a strategic framework for Cohesion policy’s R&I targeted investments to strengthen regional innovation ecosystems and build institutional capacities, addressing also challenges such as industrial transition and fostering interregional cooperation.
15() The Horizon Policy Support Facility aims to support countries in improving their R&I systems through access to relevant expertise and experience from peers on R&I policy reforms across the ERA. The budget is set for each year in the Horizon Europe Work Programme.
16() The Technical Support Instrument is the EU programme that provides tailor-made technical expertise to EU Member States to design and implement reforms.
17() https://commission.europa.eu/publications/2024-european-semester-spring-package_en.
18()European Commission (COM(2024) 474 final, Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, 10 October 2024
( Eurostat, Gross domestic expenditure on R&D, 2022 (R&D expenditure - Statistics Explained (europa.eu)
19() Ex post evaluation of Cohesion policy programmes 2014-2020 financed by the ERDF, Final report
20() Science, Research and Innovation Performance (SRIP) Report 2024, Chapter 5, p. 353-355.
21() Widening countries under Horizon Europe are: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia; Outermost Regions (under the terms of Article 349 TFEU); and associated countries with equivalent characteristics in terms of R&I performance (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo* (This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence), Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Tunisia, Ukraine, Faroe Islands).
22() Widening participation and spreading excellence - European Commission (europa.eu)
23() Inforegio - Commission funds Regional Innovation Valleys with €116 million to strengthen competitiveness and promote innovation (europa.eu)
24
25() https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/statistics/performance-indicators/european-innovation-scoreboard_en
26()https://european-union.europa.eu/priorities-and-actions/actions-topic/single-market_en
27() https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/strategy/support-policy-making/shaping-eu-research-and-innovation-policy/new-european-innovation-agenda_en
28()https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/a879719c-e4ec-11ee-8b2b-01aa75ed71a1/language-en
29() OJ L 317, 9.12.2022, p. 141–148.
30() OJ L 69, 7.3.2023, p. 75–84 and OJ L 69, 7.3.2023, p. 63–74, OJ L, 2024/774, 5.3.2024 and OJ L, 2024/736, 5.3.2024.
31() Repository of Best Practices | Research and Innovation (europa.eu)
32()https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-law-and-publications/publication-detail/-/publication/2f1ec1d2-1173-11ee-b12e-01aa75ed71a1
33() EUR-Lex - 52023DC0634 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu)
34() Implementing the actions - European Commission (europa.eu)
35() https://cetpartnership.eu/
36() Including for instance the Chips Joint Undertaking, Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking, Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, and co-programmed partnerships such as Processes 4 Planet (processing industries), Clean Steel, Batt4EU (industrial batter value chain), 2ZERO (zero emissions road transport), Made in Europe (advanced manufacturing) or co-funded partnership with Member States such as European Clean Energy Transition Partnership, as well as the Knowledge and Innovation Communities of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).
37() Industrial alliances - European Commission (europa.eu)
38()eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52024DC0028
39()EuroHPC Joint Undertaking. Homepage - EuroHPC JU (europa.eu)
40()https://strategic-technologies.europa.eu/get-funding_en
41() Science, Research and Innovation Performance (SRIP) Report 2024, Chapter 5, p. 328.
42() Science, Research and Innovation Performance (SRIP) Report 2024, Chapter 5, p. 331
43()https://european-union.europa.eu/priorities-and-actions/actions-topic/single-market_en
44() OJ C, C/2023/1640, 29.12.2023.
45() Updating the 2005 Charter and Code for researchers.
46()https://projects.research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/en/statistics/policy-support-facility/mutual-learning-exercise-research-careers
47() https://coara.eu/about/
48() https://ec.europa.eu/era-talent-platform/
49() https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/
50()https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/jobs-research/researchcomp-european-competence-framework-researchers_en
51()Data from the Research and Innovation Careers Observatory (ReICO) will indicate the progress in terms of researchers’ skills and intersectoral mobility.
52() Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable.
53() https://open-research-europe.ec.europa.eu/
54() https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/document/2b6cf7e5-36ac-41cb-aab5-0d32050143dc_en
55() For recent figures on progress:https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/1d49ca62-ec09-11ee-8e14-01aa75ed71a1/language-en
56() She Figures 2021 https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-law-and-publications/publication-detail/-/publication/67d5a207-4da1-11ec-91ac-01aa75ed71a1
57()OJ C, C/2024/3510, 30.5.2024.
58() https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2024-0022_EN.html
59() Based on an external study for the European Commission to be completed by May 2025 and aiming to provide a solid de jure and de facto assessment of the protection and promotion of the freedom of scientific research in the EU.
60() https://landscape2024.esfri.eu/media/coqdoq0q/20240604_la2024.pdf
61() European Research Infrastructure Consortia
62() European Intergovernmental Research Organisation forum
63()https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/tools-and-laboratories/open-access-jrc-research-infrastructures_en
64()https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/tools-and-laboratories/training-programmes/open-access-jrc-research-infrastructures-training-and-capacity-building_en
65() COM (2022) 16 final
66()ERA Talent Platform - Research and Innovation Careers Observatory (ReICO) (europa.eu) .
67()Regulation (EU) 2022/868 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2022 on European data governance and amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 (Data Governance Act) (Text with EEA relevance)
68() https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/ny3j24sm/much-more-than-a-market-report-by-enrico-letta.pdf
EN EN