“Europe’s competitiveness – and its position in the race to a clean and digital economy – will require putting research and innovation, science and technology at the centre of our economy.
This will entail more investment and cooperation, the right conditions for researchers to thrive and develop new skills, and a clearer focus on the most important and disruptive innovation needed for our competitiveness, security and sustainability goals.
You will play a critical role in this ambition, driving the EU’s scientific and technological progress, from basic research to applied innovation. Research and innovation must become an ever-greater part of our competitive edge in today’s global economy.”
What to expect from the EU’s Startups, Research and Innovation portfolio
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has published her mission letter to Ekaterina Zaharieva (PDF, 1.5 MB), the Commissioner-designate for Startups, Research and Innovation. This follows her press release earlier in the day in which she presented her picks for the role of Commissioners for 2020-2029.
The letter restates the principles outlined in von der Leyen’s political guidelines (PDF, 8.1 MB), published earlier this year, and illustrates Zaharieva’s mission as Commissioner.
Below are the key points from the mission letter:
- Work to expand the European Innovation Council (EIC) and the European Research Council (ERC).
- Propose a European Research Area (ERA) Act to guarantee a “fifth freedom”, namely the freedom of movement of researchers, scientific knowledge and technology.
- Develop a long-term strategy to boost European Research Infrastructure to create a pan-European ecosystem of research infrastructures and services.
- Strengthen and incentivise cooperation between academic, private, and public sector entities to create attractive career perspectives, including by strengthening the University Alliances.
- Work on a European Innovation Act to streamline the EU’s regulatory framework and facilitate access to venture capital for innovative startups and scaleups.
- Develop an EU start-up and scale-up strategy that improves the framework conditions for start-ups and scale-ups.
- Create a network of Trusted Investors to foster co-investments with the EIC Fund.
- Prepare a multi-disciplinary Strategy for European Life Sciences and contribute to the EU Biotech Act and the updated bioeconomy strategy.
- Work on an Advanced Materials Act to support the research and innovation process through manufacturing and deployment.
- Set up a European AI Research Council to increase the uptake of AI by European scientists.
- Strengthen the EU’s research security and economic security. In this context, work on identifying and harnessing the EU’s dual-use and civil-military potential.
- Reinforce international research and innovation cooperation to address EU dependencies in strategic sectors. Identify partners for cooperation in critical technology areas through Global Gateway projects.
- Lead the implementation and oversee the allocation of funding from EU research and innovation programmes, such as Horizon Europe, and ensure that these resources are used effectively to achieve the highest scientific excellence and impact standards. Simplify access to funding for SMEs and small midcaps.
- Ensure that the EU Missions achieve their goals by 2030 and that all the instruments of the EU Framework Programmes, such as Joint Undertakings, are used to their full potential.
- Contribute to further developing the New European Bauhaus, focusing on innovation and bio-based materials.
Commissioner-designate Zaharieva will work under the guidance of the Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and the Industrial Strategy. She will also work under the guidance of the Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy on matters related to tech sovereignty.
The Directorate-General for Innovation and Research, the Joint Research Centre and the task force on startups will support her in her work.