The European Commission yesterday adopted a New European Innovation Agenda to position Europe at the forefront of the new wave of deep tech innovation and start-ups. It will help Europe to develop new technologies to address the most pressing societal challenges, and to bring them on the market. The New European Innovation Agenda is designed to position Europe as a leading player on the global innovation scene. Europe wants to be the place where the best talent work hand in hand with the best companies and where deep tech innovation thrives and creates breakthrough innovative solutions across the continent that will inspire the world.
By leading on innovation, in particular on the new wave of deep-tech innovation requiring breakthrough R&D and large capital investment, Europe will reinforce its central role in shaping the green and digital transitions. Deep tech innovation will reinforce Europe's technological leadership and generate innovative solutions to pressing societal challenges, such as climate change and cyberthreats. Such innovations are likely to irrigate and benefit all sectors from renewable energy to agri-tech, from construction to mobility and health, thereby tackling food security, reducing energy dependency, improving people's health and making our economies more competitive. The severe consequences of Russia's war of aggression has given these issues even greater urgency and prompted strategic policy changes to ensure the EU's prosperity and security.
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for a Europe fit for the Digital Age, said: “We need to boost our innovation ecosystems to develop human-centered technologies. This new Innovation Agenda builds on the significant work done already on innovation in the last years and will help us accelerate our digital and green transition. The Agenda is rooted in the digital, physical and biological spheres and will enable us tackle better burning concerns, such as breaking the dependence from fossil fuels or securing our food supply in a sustainable way.”
Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said: “The new European Innovation Agenda will ensure innovators, start-ups and scale-ups, their innovative businesses to become global innovation leaders. For more than a year we have consulted the stakeholders, such as innovation ecosystem leaders, startups, unicorns, women founders, women working in the capital venture, universities, and businesses. Together, we will make Europe the global powerhouse for deep-tech innovations and startups.”
Building on Europeans' entrepreneurial mindset, scientific excellence, the strength of the single market and democratic societies, the New Innovation Agenda will in particular:
The New European Innovation Agenda sets out 25 dedicated actions under five flagships:
Building on the substantive work that have been done already to foster innovation in the EU, the New European Innovation Agenda aims to accelerate the development and scaling up of innovation across the Union through a coherent set of actions.