EURICE Welcomes the European Commission’s Strategic Direction to Strengthen Start-Ups in Future Innovation Funding
In September 2024, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, presented the new College of Commissioners to the European Parliament. Alongside a series of personnel changes, the structure of the Commission itself has been adapted to foster more interactive and interconnected collaboration among its members. This new framework reflects the EU's core priorities: prosperity, security, democracy, and competitiveness, set against the backdrop of ongoing digital and ecological transformations. Von der Leyen's vision is to place research, innovation, science, and the economy at the heart of Europe's future, directing investment towards strategic priorities that drive groundbreaking innovation.
The emphasis on competitiveness is particularly evident in the title of Ekaterina Zaharieva, the newly appointed Commissioner for Startups, Research, and Innovation. The explicit inclusion of "startups" in her portfolio signals the EU's sharpened focus on creating impact through research and innovation – a key recommendation of the Interim Evaluation of Horizon Europe report "Align, act and accelerate," presented by the High-Level Expert Group in October 2024.
With Horizon Europe set to conclude in 2027, preparations for the EU's next research framework programme commenced earlier this year. At its core, the new programme aims to bolster Europe's global competitiveness by advancing impactful research, innovation, and scale-ups within a more robust framework. A central ambition of the initiative is to render Europe more competitive, secure, sustainable, and resilient through the delivery of exceptional research, transformative innovation, and the scaling of key technologies, underpinned by an emphasis on competitive excellence.
As a partner in 62 Horizon 2020 and 41 Horizon Europe projects, EURICE is firmly embedded within the European research ecosystem. With a strong focus on exploitation of research results and an impact-oriented approach, EURICE has consistently worked to ensure that project outcomes are not only groundbreaking but also practical and scalable, maximising their value to European society and industry.
The plans for the next EU framework programme align closely with EURICE's core values. By emphasising impact-driven research, innovation, and industrial scaling, the new programme reflects EURICE's long-standing commitment to translating research into tangible benefits. The introduction of initiatives like the innovation procurement programme will stimulate industrial innovations through demand-driven solutions. This is particularly in line with EURICE's focus on bridging the gap between innovation and market readiness.
With a vast network of partners across Europe, EURICE enhances collaborative efforts by leveraging its innovation ecosystems and fostering connections between researchers, SMEs, and other key stakeholders, maximising their collective impact.
EURICE prides itself on advising and accompanying researchers, SMEs and industrial partners throughout the entire innovation journey – from the early stages of research project proposals to patenting research results and the creation of spin-off companies. The addition of "startups" to the portfolio of Commissioner Zaharieva underscores the EU's dedication to fostering entrepreneurial ecosystems and scaling innovation – a focus that perfectly aligns with EURICE's mission. By embracing demand-driven solutions, EURICE is excited to contribute to projects that will shape a globally competitive, resilient, and sustainable Europe.