New European innovation agenda on the move : report on the state of play of the new European innovation agenda.
Date: 2024-03-15
Institutions: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
Subjects: EU initiative, EU research policy, EU strategy, action programme, decision-making, financing, innovation, new technology, public procurement, report, research infrastructure, strategic autonomy, technological change

New European 
Innovation Agenda 
 on the move 

Report on the State of play  
of the New European  
Innovation Agenda

Research and 
Innovation 

NEIA on the move: Report on the State of play of the New European Innovation Agenda (NEIA)

European Commission

Directorate-General for Research and Innovation

Directorate A — ERA and innovation

Unit A.5 — Innovation policy and access to finance

Contact  

Andras Inotai 

Email  

Andras.inotai@ec.europa.eu   

RTD-PUBLICATIONS@ec.europa.eu

European Commission

B-1049 Brussels

Manuscript completed in March 2024. 
1st edition.

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION

New European 
Innovation Agenda 
on the move

Report on the State of play of  
the New European Innovation Agenda

2024

Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
New European Innovation Agenda

Table of contents 
1.  INTRODUCTION – THE NEW EUROPEAN INNOVATION AGENDA 

IN ACTION ................................................................................................ 3 

Purpose of the report 

An evolving European and global context 

3 

4 

2.  STATE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF NEIA ACTIONS IN THE FIVE 

FLAGSHIP AREAS ................................................................................... 5 

Funding for deep-tech scale-ups 

Enabling deep-tech innovation through experimentation spaces 
and public procurement 

Accelerating and strengthening innovation in European 
innovation ecosystems across the EU and addressing the 
innovation divide 

Fostering, attracting and retaining deep-tech talent 

Improving the tools for innovation policy-making 

5 

9 

11 

16 

19 

3.  INSTITUTIONAL DIALOGUE, STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT 

AND COMMUNICATION .......................................................................... 22 

Interactions with other EU institutions 

Dialogue with stakeholders 

Communication activities and events on NEIA actions 

22 

23 

23 

4.  NEXT STEPS AND CHALLENGES AHEAD ............................................ 23 

2 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.  INTRODUCTION – THE NEW EUROPEAN INNOVATION AGENDA 

IN ACTION 

  Purpose of the report 

The Commission Communication on the New European Innovation Agenda (NEIA) (1) was 
adopted on 5 July 2022. The NEIA aims to position Europe at the forefront of the new wave 
of  deep-tech  innovation,  developing  new  technologies  to  address  pressing  societal 
challenges,  and  bringing  them  to  the  market.  Deep-tech  innovation  is  about  innovation 
rooted in cutting-edge science, technology and engineering. This innovation often combines 
advances  in  the  physical,  biological  and  digital  spheres  and  has  the  potential  to  deliver 
transformative solutions in the face of global challenges. 

In order to provide the best environment for deep-tech innovation to thrive in Europe and for 
innovative companies to grow, the NEIA outlines 25 actions grouped under five flagship 
areas  1)  funding  scale-ups;  2)  enabling  innovation  through  experimentation  spaces  and 
public  procurement;  3)  accelerating  and  strengthening  innovation  in  European  innovation 
ecosystems across the EU and addressing the innovation divide; 4) fostering, attracting and 
retaining talent; and 5) improving policy-making tools. 

As stated in the conclusions of the  NEIA, ‘The Commission will monitor and report on 
the progress and impact of the actions identified in this Communication by 2024, in close 
cooperation with the representatives of Member States in the European Innovation Council 
(EIC) Forum’. This report delivers on that commitment, by focusing on the state of play and 
outputs of the various actions, while a longer timeline will be needed to fully evaluate their 
impact.  Since  its  inception,  the  Commission  has  regularly  issued  updates  on  the  NEIA’s 
progress on a dedicated section of the Europa website (2). Regular updates have also been 
provided to:  Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries at the meetings of 
the  EIC  Forum (3),  as  well  as  to  the  EIC  Board,  to  the  relevant  configuration  of  the 
Programme Committee of Horizon Europe and to the EU institutions and bodies. (4)  

18 months following its adoption, all the 25 core actions announced in the NEIA have 
either  been  completed  or  are  ongoing.  In  addition,  a  number  of  additional  actions 
supporting the NEIA have been launched by the Commission or other EU institutions since 
the  adoption  of  the  NEIA.  Finally,  Member  States  and  Associated  Countries  have 
announced (5) in the framework of the EIC Forum, more than 200 initiatives supporting 
the  NEIA  at  national  level  with  legislative  actions,  policy  initiatives  or  funding  schemes. 
This report also provides examples of these supporting actions. 

Based on the progress made and on the evolving European and global context, this report 
identifies the next steps for the implementation of the NEIA. 

(1) Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic 

and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions of 5.7.2022 COM (2022) 332 final. 

(2)  https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/strategy/support-policy-making/shaping-eu-research-and-

innovation-policy/new-european-innovation-agenda_en. 

(3)  https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/strategy/support-policy-making/shaping-eu-research-and-

innovation-policy/new-european-innovation-agenda/eic-forum_en.  

(4)  See Chapter 3.1. 
(5)  Member  States  and  Associated  Countries  are  actively  supporting  New  European  Innovation  Agenda! 

(europa.eu). 

3 

 
 
  An evolving European and global context  

The landscape of innovation is in a state of rapid and continuous transformation and since 
the  adoption  of  the  NEIA,  both  the  global  and  the  European  context  have  changed 
significantly.  

At a global level, the major economic players have significantly ramped up investments 
and  initiatives  to  bolster  domestic  innovation.  The  United  States  has  adopted  both  the 
Inflation Reduction Act, setting out plans for almost USD 400 billion in investment in green 
and digital projects (6) and the CHIPS and Science Act (worth USD 280 billion) in the area 
of semiconductors. The US is also supporting innovation hubs throughout the country and 
spreading  the  so-called  ARPA (7)  model  to  boost  innovation  in  transport  infrastructure, 
energy,  and  health.  China  is  equally  making  significant  efforts  to  promote  innovation,  for 
instance through the ‘Made in China 2025’ initiative. In recent years, high-income countries 
(such  as  Saudi  Arabia)  and  emerging  middle-income  economies  (such  as  Indonesia, 
Turkey, India, Vietnam, Brazil, the Philippines and Iran) have all improved their position in 
the Global Innovation Index rankings (8). 

Deep-tech  innovation  is  transforming  our  economies  and  societies.  It  is  rooted  in  cutting-
edge  science,  technology  and  engineering,  and  often  combines  advances  in  the  physical, 
biological  and  digital  spheres  with  the  potential  to  deliver  transformative  solutions  in  the 
face of global challenges. 

the  way 

These  developments  are  paving 
for  reinforcing  or  challenging  existing 
technological leaderships at a global level in key technologies such as batteries, hydrogen, 
photovoltaics,  wind  energy,  space  &  propulsion  technologies,  quantum  and  chips.  In  this 
context,  the  growing  and  interconnected  challenges  linked  to  boosting  competitiveness, 
accelerating  the  green  and  digital  transitions  and  ensuring  both  open  strategic 
autonomy (9)  and  economic  security,  prompted  the  EU  to  launch  new  initiatives  and 
instruments  following  the  NEIA’s  adoption.  These  include  the  Green  Deal  Industrial 
Plan (10),  and  concrete  initiatives  under  it  such  as  the  Net-Zero  Industry  Act (11)  or  the 
Critical  Raw  Materials  Act (12),  as  well  as 
the  European  Economic  Security 
Communication (13).The EU Chips Act (14) has been adopted by the co-legislators and the 

(6)  See  Commission  Communication  COM(2023)  684  final  for  a  report  on  EU  policy  initiatives  for  the 

promotion of investments in clean technologies. 

(7)ARPA  (American  Rescue  Plan  Act)  is  a  financial  programme  supporting  technologies  in  specific  sectors 
that might not otherwise be pursued via high-risk, high-gain research involving government labs, private 
industry, and universities. Following the success of this model in the area  of defence (DARPA), the US 
has created additional agencies on the same model: ARPA-E for energy, ARPA-H for health and ARPA-I 
for transport infrastructure. 

(8)  See  WIPO  (World  Intellectual  Property  Organization),  Global  Innovation  Index  2023.  For  instance, 
compared with 2020, Saudi Arabia gained 18 positions (from 66th to 48th) in the global ranking, Indonesia 
24 (from 85th to 61st) and Turkey 12 (from 51st to 39th). EU Member States have mostly maintained their 
previous positions during this time (between Sweden ranking second and Romania ranking in 47th place), 
but 12 of them saw a slight decrease in their innovation index ranking in these 3 years. 

(9)  The  concept  of  Open  Strategic  Autonomy  was  introduced  in  the  Commission´2021  Strategic  Foresight 

Report, COM/2021/750 final’. 

(10) Commission Communication of 1.2.2023 COM(2023) 62 final. 
(11)  Commission  proposal  for  a  regulation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  16.3.2023 

COM(2023) 161 final. 

(12)  Proposal  for  a  regulation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  establishing  a  framework  for 
ensuring  a  secure  and  sustainable  supply  of  critical  raw  materials  and  amending  Regulations  (EU) 
168/2013, (EU) 2018/858, 2018/1724 and (EU) 2019/102. 

(13)Joint  Communication  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  European  Council  and  the  Council  on  the 

European Economic Security Strategy, Join (2023) 20 final. 

4 

 
 
Strategic  Technologies  European  Platform  (STEP) (15),  aiming  to  boost  investments  in 
critical  technologies  in  Europe,  was  agreed  by  the  co-legislators  in  February  2024. New 
initiatives  on  advanced  materials 
leadership,  on  biotech  and  on 
biomanufacturing  are  planned  for  2024 (16).  In  all  these  initiatives,  the  importance  of 
innovation,  including  deep-tech  innovation,  is  emphasised  because  of  its  crucial  role  in 
future  and  emerging  supply  chains,  as  highlighted  by  the  Commission  President  in  her 
State of the Union speech in September 2023 (17). 

industrial 

for 

2.  STATE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF NEIA ACTIONS IN THE FIVE 

FLAGSHIP AREAS 

  Funding for deep-tech scale-ups 

Under  this  flagship  area,  the  NEIA  aims  at  tackling  the  obstacles  that  prevent  investment  and 
growth for deep-tech scale-ups. Because of their capital-intensive nature, information asymmetry 
(with  investors  less  knowledgeable  than  those  working  in  deep-tech)  and  long  lead  times (18), 
deep-tech  startups  need  substantial  equity  investment  to  reach  their  full  potential.  However, 
Europe’s  capital  markets,  characterised  by  a  dependency  on  bank  lending,  continue  to  be 
insufficiently  tech  savvy,  lack  a  broad  investor  base  ensuring  high  supply  of  capital  or  are  not 
sufficiently connected to provide the capital base such companies need. (19)  

The EU needs to mobilise existing but currently untapped sources of private capital (such as 
European  pension  funds,  which  are  currently  decreasing  their  already-limited  investments  in 
private  capital (20),  as  well  as  asset  managers  and  insurance  companies)  towards  innovative 
companies,  including  through  venture  capital  (VC)  funds.  Moreover,  to  tackle  the  untapped 
potential  of  VC  talent  in  terms  of  gender (21),  Europe  needs  to  harbour  a  more  inclusive  and 
diverse investment ecosystem for deep-tech startups. (22) 

Completed NEIA actions 

The  Commission  proposal  for  the  Listing  Act (23),  adopted  in  December  2022,  aims  at 
simplifying listing requirements - mostly for companies on EU capital markets-  to reduce costs 
and  increase  legal  certainty  for  issuers,  while  safeguarding  investor  protection  and  market 
integrity.  The  Listing  Act  also  puts  forward  minimum  harmonisation  of  national  regimes 

(14) Regulation (EU) 2023/1781 of the European Parliament and of the Council  13./9./2023. 
(15)  Proposal  for  a  Regulation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  establishing  the  Strategic 

Technologies for Europe Platform (‘STEP’) COM (2023) 335 final. 

(16) Commission work programme 2024 (COM(2023) 638 final). 
(17) https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/speech_23_4426. 
(18) https://dealroom.co/reports/the-european-deep-tech-report-2023. 
(19)  Growth  investments  beyond  series-C  equity  rounds  are  dominated  by  US/Asia  actors  and  sovereign 
wealth funds. Compared to Europe, the US has 10-15 times more VC funds with a size of at least EUR 1 
billion, and these funds of at least EUR 1 billion in size are needed to be able to deploy tickets of EUR 
50+ million supporting the late scaling-up of deep-tech ventures. 

(20) European pension funds have  made just 60 commitments into private capital funds in Europe in 2023, 
almost half their commitment in 2022 when they made 113 commitments, according to PitchBook data. 
(21)  Only  5%  of  European  VC  investments  are  currently  made  in  mixed  teams  and  only  2%  in  female-only 

ones. 

(22)  Evidence  shows  that  diverse  teams  make  better  investment  decisions.  See  ‘Gender  Smart  Financing 
Investing 
https://economy-
finance.ec.europa.eu/publications/gender-smart-financing-investing-and-women-opportunities-europe_en 
or  ‘Why  diverse  teams  are  smarter’  by  Harvard  Business  Review,  2016,  https://hbr.org/2016/11/why-
diverse-teams-are-smarter.  

Opportunities 

Women: 

Europe’, 

With 

for 

In 

& 

(23) Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council COM/2022/762 final. 

5 

 
 
allowing multiple-vote share structures, to enable smaller companies, including startups, in 
all  Member  States  to  raise  larger  amounts  of  funds  by  issuing  shares  of  their  companies, 
while  retaining  control  over  management  decisions  post-listing.  The  co-legislators  have 
finalised the negotiations in Q1 2024 and the publication of the act is expected in the course 
of this year. 

The  Commission  proposal  for  a  directive  on  a  debt-equity  bias-reduction  allowance 
(DEBRA) (24)  on  corporate  income  tax  was  adopted  in  May  2022.  The  objective  is  to 
address  the  asymmetric  tax  treatment  currently  existing  in  most  Member  States  between 
debt  and  equity  financing  in  which  debt  is  treated  more  favourably  than  equity.  This 
proposal would incentivise businesses to fund growth/scaling-up by raising equity instead of 
borrowing. The discussions on the proposal have been suspended in Council in November 
2022.  The  Commission  calls  on  the  Council  to  swiftly  resume  discussion  on  the 
Commission’s proposal. 

The  European  Institute  of  Innovation  &  Technology  (EIT)  Women2Invest  programme 
was launched in 2022. It seeks to help women with backgrounds in science, technology, 
engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) to start careers in venture investment. Two 
groups  of  131  beneficiaries  from  25  European  nationalities  have  already  followed  8-
week internships in VC funds under the programme. Additional groups will be selected in 
2024-2025. 

Ongoing NEIA actions  

The expansion of the European scale-up action for risk capital (ESCALAR) mechanism 
under  the  InvestEU  programme  aims  at  mobilising  venture-capital  funding  for  high  growth 
scale-ups. In particular, the initiative aims at encouraging more involvement of risk-averse 
investors  (such  as  pension  funds  and  insurance  companies)  in  scale-up  VC  funds,  by 
reducing  their  risk  in  exchange  for  capping  the  potential  returns  they  can  receive.  In 
particular, it aims to attract untapped sources of institutional capital by providing favourable 
co-investment opportunities in VC funds.  

In  May  2023,  the  Commission  met  a  group  of  European  institutional  investors  who 
confirmed their interest in ESCALAR-type products. This led the European Investment Fund 
(EIF) (25)  and  InvestEurope (26)  to  organize  a  follow-on  workshop  to  promote  a  dedicated 
call, (27)  that  was  launched  in  Autumn  2023.  The  call  aims  at  selecting  eligible  financial 
intermediaries  to  become  ESCALAR  Financial  Intermediaries  and  the  selection  should  be 
completed in 2024. 

An EIC pilot programme is also being developed to create a European innovation gender 
and diversity index. The programme will seek to measure the gender and diversity gap in 
investment  in  deep-tech  startups.  The  project (28)  is  advancing,  with  the  first  results 
expected by the end of 2024. 

(24) Proposal for a Council Directive on laying down rules on a debt-equity bias-reduction allowance and on 
limiting the deductibility of interest for corporate income tax purposes, COM(2022)  216 final, 2022/0154 
(CNS) of 1.5.2022. 

(25) The EIF implements ESCALAR under InvestEU. 
(26) https://www.investeurope.eu. 
(27) https://www.eif.org/InvestEU/escalar-call-for-expression-of-interest/index.htm. 
(28) HORIZON-EIC-2022-GENDER-01-01. 

6 

 
 
 
Additional actions 

Under Horizon Europe, the EIC (29) is helping Europe work towards achieving its deep-tech 
ambitions,  namely  to  turn  excellent  European  deep-tech  research  into  innovations  and  to 
deploy radical deep-tech innovations at scale. The EIC is successfully delivering on these 
ambitions  by  identifying  ground-breaking  ideas  emerging  from  the  research  base  and 
building a critical mass of capability that links researchers with innovators, investors, SMEs, 
and  corporations  in  strategic  areas  such  as  quantum  technologies,  innovative  space 
technologies and services, cell and gene therapies, hydrogen and battery technologies.  

The EIC is the largest deep-tech venture capital (VC) investor in Europe (30) and provides a 
unique  combination  of  traditional  public-grant  and  patient,  direct-equity  investment  in 
companies. This is helping  to address a critical gap in  Europe where VC is too small and 
fragmented. Importantly, by providing such investment in partnership with private investors, 
the  EIC  is  also  helping  to  develop  Europe’s  deep-tech  investor  base  and  make  use  of 
investors’ specialised domain knowledge and networks of private investors to help scale-up 
EIC-supported companies. 

Following just over a year of operations, investment decisions have now been made by the 
EIC Fund for over 200 companies worth well over EUR 1 billion in total. These investment 
decisions  have  ‘crowded  in’  EUR  3.5  of  additional  private  investment  for  each  euro  of 
investment through the EIC into high potential startups and SMEs. EIC-funded companies 
have  also  been  successful  in  securing  significant  levels  of  follow-on  financing  and  seeing 
their  valuations  increase  considerably,  with  well  over  100  companies  now  achieving 
‘centaur’ ( 31) valuations following the provision of EIC support. 

Initiative  (ETCI),  aimed  at  providing 

In  February  2023,  the  European  Investment  Bank  Group  set  up  the  European  Tech 
larger-scale  venture 
Champions 
investments  in  deep-tech  scale-ups.  The  ETCI  is  expected  to  make  10-15  investments  in 
large  VC/growth-capital  funds  (with  approx.  EUR  1  billion  in  assets  under  management). 
The  goal  is  to  mobilise  more  than  EUR 10 billion  of  private  investments  into  innovative 
companies  in  their  growth  stage.  The  ETCI  Fund,  managed  by  the  EIF  under  a  mandate 
from  the  European  Investment  Bank  (EIB)  and  participating  Member  States (32),  has 
secured  EUR  3.75  billion  of  public  funds.  The  EIF  is  already  supporting  four  EU-based 
funds (33) while complementarities with existing EU funding instruments (34) are sought.  

late-stage, 

The Startup Europe (35) initiative strengthens networking opportunities for deep-tech scale-
ups and ecosystem builders to accelerate the growth of the European startup scene. 

The  Green  Deal  industrial  plan  for  the  net-zero  age,  published  in  February  2023, 
includes a pillar on promoting faster access to sufficient funding aimed at mobilising public 

(29)  With  a  budget  of  EUR  10.1bn  over  7  years,  the  EIC  regularly  runs  three  distinct  grant  calls:  EIC-
Pathfinder,  EIC-Transition  and  EIC-Accelerator.  Within  the  latter,  the  EIC  Fund  is  a  specific  venture-
investment instrument, assisted by the European Investment Bank as investment advisor. 

(30)  The  European  Innovation  Council  Fund:  the  biggest  European  deep  tech  investor  -  European 

Commission (europa.eu). 

(31)i.e. a valuation of at least USD 100 million 
(32) To date: Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands. 
(33)Atomico Growth VI, FSI II and Keensight Nova 6, plus an agreement that is in the process of being closed 
(34) Including InvestEU, the EIC, ESCALAR and the IPO (Initial Public Offer) Initiative. 
(35) Startup Europe (HORIZON-EIE-2024-CONNECT-01-02) - European Commission (europa.eu). 

7 

 
 
 
 
and  private  financial  resources  to  support  the  green  transition.  The  Net-Zero  Industry  Act 
includes  the  creation  of  skills  academies  to  rapidly  enhance  the  skills  of  the  European 
workforce in key net-zero sectors, building on the success of initiatives like the European 
Battery Alliance Academy managed by the EIT. The EIT is extending this approach with 
the implementation of the European Solar Academy.  

Moreover, the Innovation Fund, supporting projects in innovative low-carbon technologies, 
has been extended and reinforced. (36) The Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform 
(STEP), agreed by the co-legislators in February 2024, aims to boost investments in critical 
technologies  in  Europe,  including  by  facilitating  cumulative  or  combined  funding  from 
several EU instruments. 

The  SME  relief  package,  published  in  September  2023,  includes  measures  to  improve 
access  to  finance  for  SMEs,  such  as  making  it  easier  to  access  sustainable  finance  and 
public-procurement markets (37). 

The Commission has actively engaged in promoting the NEIA and European innovation 
ecosystems in the US, visiting Silicon Valley with a large group of business and academic 
representatives. The key objective is to attract talents, innovators and investors into the EU, 
so that European-based startups can develop and grow. 

Member  States  and  Associated  Countries  have  also  announced  a  number  of  national 
initiatives  supporting  improved  funding  for  deep-tech  scale-ups (38).  For  example,  the 
‘Zukunftsfonds’  initiative  in  Germany  strengthens  financing  opportunities  in  the  capital-
intensive  scaling  phase  of startups  with  various  instruments,  including  a  deep-tech  & 
climate  fund  and  a  fund  for  venture-tech  growth  financing (39).The  ‘Fondo  Nazionale 
Innovazione’,  run  in  Italy  by  the  national  promotional  bank  Cassa  Depositi  e  Prestiti,  is 
using  direct  and  indirect  investments  to  promote  the  development  of  the  domestic 
innovation  ecosystem,  including  programmes  of  acceleration,  technology  transfer  hubs, 
green and digital transition and support to companies from regions lagging behind (40). The 
‘Innvierte’  programme,  run  by  the  CDTI  in  Spain,  is  also  promoting  venture  investments 
and co-investments in strategic technology sectors including telecoms, artificial intelligence 
(AI),  robotics,  semiconductors,  cybersecurity,  aerospace,  defence,  energy  storage, 
quantum  and  nuclear 
technologies,  nanotechnologies,  biotechnologies,  advanced 
materials, and advanced manufacturing systems (41). The NCBR Investment Fund (NIF) in 
Poland  acquires  shares  in  enterprises  implementing  projects  resulting  from  scientific 
research  or  development  (‘portfolio  companies’) 
in  cooperation  with  co-investors 
(‘accredited  funds’),  to  create  a  stable,  long-term  investment  platform  for  technology 
projects (42). 

(36) In 2023 new sectors, a new financial instrument and a reinforced budget have been introduced following 

the Emission Trading System Revision 

(37)  https://single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu/news/unleashing-potential-europes-small-businesses-2023-

09-28_, https://digital strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/startup-europe. 

(38) Flagship 1: Funding for deep tech scale ups (europa.eu). 
(39)https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/Standardartikel/Themen/Internationales_Finanzmar

kt/zukunftsfonds.html.  

(40) https://www.cdpventurecapital.it/cdp-venture-capital/en/home.page.  
(41) https://www.cdti.es/en/node/889.  
(42) https://nifasi.pl/en/.  

8 

 
 
 
  Enabling deep-tech innovation through experimentation spaces and 

public procurement 

Framework  conditions  –  including  regulations  –  are  important  factors  for  the  development 
and  uptake  of  innovative  products  and  processes.  Together  with  the  further  expansion  of 
innovation  procurement,  the  creation  of  innovation-friendly  regulatory  frameworks  is  the 
main  priority  of  this  flagship  area.  The  important  role  of  such  frameworks,  in  particular 
regulatory  sandboxes,  has  also  been  explicitly  recognised  by  the  European  Council  since 
the adoption of the NEIA (43). 

Completed NEIA actions 

In  July  2023,  the  Commission  issued  a  staff  working  document (44)  to  clarify  the  nature 
and  role  of  available  experimentation  tools  (especially  regulatory  sandboxes,  but  also 
testbeds  and  living  labs),  providing  guidance  on  how  the  EU  and  national  governments 
can  support  and  engage  innovators  in  the  regulatory  process.  The  document  showcases 
existing examples of experimentation spaces from Europe and beyond, with a special focus 
on the energy sector, in line with the RePowerEU plan ( 45). 

The revised State Aid Framework for Research & Innovation & Development (R&I&D) 
was  adopted  in  October  2022  to  simplify  the  rules  applied  by  EU  Member  States  and  to 
testing  and  experimentation 
allow,  under  certain  conditions,  public  support 
infrastructures required to develop, test and upscale new technologies. 

for 

In  March  2023,  the  Commission  adopted  a  targeted  amendment  to  the  General  Block 
Exemption Regulation (GBER) to further facilitate, simplify and speed up support for the 
EU’s green and digital transitions (46). The new rules facilitate the implementation of certain 
projects  involving  beneficiaries  in  several  Member  States,  such  as  important  projects  of 
common European interest, in the research and development field, by increasing both the 
permitted  aid  intensities  and  the  notification  thresholds (47).  For  instance,  in  December 
2023,  7  Member  States  were  authorised  to  mobilise  up  to  €1.2  billion  in  public  funding  – 
spurring a further €1.4 billion in private investments – to support research, development and 
initial  industrial  deployment  of  European  innovations  in  cloud  and  edge  technologies (48). 
The provisions of the amended GBER have been prolonged until the end of 2026. 

testing  and  experimentation 

Since  January  2023,  the  Commission  has  been  co-funding  together  with  Member  States, 
four 
the  Digital  Europe 
facilities 
Programme. (49)  TEFs  offer  a  combination  of  physical  and  virtual  facilities  to  allow 
technology  providers  across  Europe  to  test  and  experiment  at  scale  and  in  real-world 
environments  state-of-the-art  AI  solutions,  including  both  software  and  hardware  products 
and services, including robots. European-wide access to the TEFs is facilitated by a dense 

(TEFs)  under 

(43) See European Council Conclusions, 23 March 2023. 
(44)  Commission  Staff  Working  Document  ‘Regulatory  Learning  in  the  EU,  Guidance  on  Regulatory 
Sandboxes,  Test-beds  and  living  labs  in  the  EU,  with  a  focus  section  on  energy’,  (2023)  277/2  final  of 
29.8.2023. 

(45) COM(2022) 230 final of 18.5.2022. 
(46) Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1315 of 23 June 2023 amending Regulation (EU) No 651/2014. 
(47)i.e. the amount of aid above which triggers a requirement to notify the Commission. 
(48)IPCEI  Next  Generation  Cloud  Infrastructure  and  Services  (IPCEI  CIS),  was  jointly  notified  on 
December 5, 2023 by seven Member States: France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, 
and Spain. 

(49)These projects relate to Agri-Food, Healthcare, Manufacturing and Smart Cities & Communities. They will 

be supported for 5 years with an overall budget of EUR 220 million. 

9 

 
 
network  of  more  than  200  European  Digital  Innovation  Hubs,  funded  through  a 
combination of the Digital Europe Programme with national and regional resources. 

Ongoing NEIA actions 

A  number  of  projects  on  open-innovation  test  beds  in  the  area  of  hydrogen  and 
advanced materials (50) are being carried out with the support of Horizon Europe (51). The 
projects aim at providing access to physical facilities, capabilities, and services to support 
the development of a vibrant clean-hydrogen economy.  

In 2023, the Commission launched a call for the provision of a specialist advisory service 
on  innovation  procurement  under  Horizon  Europe (52).  The  selected  projects  are 
expected to kick-off in Q2 2024. The advisory service will act as an intermediary between 
public procurers and innovative suppliers.  

Additional actions 

The  Innovation-Friendly  Regulations  Advisory  Group  (IFRAG),  composed  of  11 
experts,  was  appointed  by  the  Commission  at  the  end  of  2022.  Its  role  is  to  provide 
upstream policy advice on new technologies. It focused in 2023 on: (i) the use of emerging 
digital technologies in the public sector, and in particular virtual worlds, by looking at their 
implication for the EU regulatory landscape; and (ii) applications in areas such as citizens’ 
involvement in decision-making. The IFRAG concluded its mandate in February 2024 and 
will shortly publish its findings. 

Once adopted, the Net-Zero Industry Act will promote regulatory sandboxes for strategic 
innovative net-zero technologies. (53) 

Once adopted, the AI Act (54) will help to create a legal framework for AI that is innovation-
friendly, future-proof and resilient to disruption, including by reducing the regulatory burden 
on SMEs and startups. The AI  Act will encourage national authorities to set up regulatory 
sandboxes,  and  sets  a  basic  framework  for  governance,  supervision  and  liability. 
Furthermore,  the  Commission  proposed  in  January  2024  a  new  package  of  measures, 
including  setting  up  of  AI  factories,  to  boost  innovation  and  startups,  including  in  areas 
such as testing, evaluation, and validation of large-scale AI models (55). 

(50)  Open-innovation 

test  beds 

for  advanced  materials  –  https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-

/publication/0aaf1e05-2082-11ee-94cb-01aa75ed71a1/language-en/format-PDF/source-289339785.  
(51) Horizon Europe 2022 work programme for cluster 4 (HORIZON-CL4-2022-RESILIENCE-01-20, ‘Climate 
Neutral and Circular Innovative Materials Technologies Open Innovation Test Beds’) and Horizon Europe 
2023  work  programme  for  cluster  5  (HORIZON-CL5-2023-D2-01-06,  ‘Open  Pilot  Line/Test  Bed  for 
hydrogen’). 

(52) European Innovation Ecosystems work programme 2023-2024. 
(53)The  Act  supports  in  particular  8  strategic  net  zero  technologies:  i)  solar  photovoltaic  and  solar  thermal 
technologies; ii) onshore wind and offshore renewable energy; iii) batteries and storage; iv) heat pumps 
and  geothermal  energy;  v)  electrolysers  and  fuel  cells;  vi)  biogas/biomethane;  vii)  carbon  capture  and 
storage (CCS); and viii) grid technologies (which also include electric vehicles smart and fast charging. 
(54)Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down harmonised rules 
on  artificial  intelligence  (artificial  intelligence  act)  and  amending  certain  union  legislative  acts, 
(Com/2021/206 final). 

(55) Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic 
and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  on  boosting  startups  and  innovation  in 
trustworthy artificial intelligence, of 24.1.2024, COM(2024) 28 final. 

10 

 
 
Open-innovation test beds are crucial for implementing the Commission communication on 
advanced  materials  for  industry  leadership (56) and  will  be  the  object  of  a  pilot 
programme for a European approach to investments in technology infrastructures. 

Govtech4all (Incubator) (57) brings together national GovTech initiatives in a consortium of 
21 digital agencies from 14 European countries to foster a single European Union GovTech 
market and promote interoperability and new models of public sector innovation. It aims at 
exploring,  through  piloting  and  experimentation,  the  cross-border  implementation  of 
emerging technologies in the public sector, with a special focus on startups and innovative 
SMEs. 

Horizon Europe’s Cluster 1 (Health) continues to increase both knowledge and activities in 
innovation procurement for health, with the Procure4Health Network launching two calls 
for  twinning  to  widen  the  use  of  the  instrument  across  Europe.  Furthermore,  the  Horizon 
Europe  2024  work  programme  includes  a  pre-commercial  procurement  topic  on  the 
greening of healthcare systems, with a budget of EUR 15 million.  

Member  States  and  Associated  Countries  announced  a  number  of  national  initiatives 
supporting  experimentation  spaces  and  public  procurement (58).  For  example,  the  ‘free 
technological zones’ in Portugal consist of regulatory sandboxes or living labs under the 
monitoring  of  the  National  Innovation  Agency  (ANI).  Innovation  procurement  action  by 
Estonia  or  Sweden’s  programme  of  ‘cheques  for  innovation  procurement’  aim  at 
increasing the take-up of innovation procurement through special advisory services, sharing 
best  practices,  supporting  development  and  implementation  of  innovative  solutions  in  the 
public sector. The innovation procurement portal set up in Italy will match the demand for 
and  supply  of  innovation,  encouraging  collaboration  between  the  public  administration, 
companies, startups and research institutions. 

  Accelerating  and  strengthening  innovation  in  European  innovation 

ecosystems across the EU and addressing the innovation divide 

The innovation strength of Europe relies to a large extent on the diversity and dynamism of 
its regional ecosystems. Under this flagship area, the NEIA addresses three specific goals: 
(i) strengthening regional innovation ecosystems on the basis of local ‘smart specialisation’ 
strategies;  (ii)  reducing  the  regional  innovation  divide  that  persists  across  Europe  (59)  in 
spite  of  several  EU  and  national  actions (60) (61);  and  (iii)  incentivising  better  innovation 
collaboration between regions in their common areas of smart specialisation to create and 
strengthen value chains across Europe. 

(56)Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic 
and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on Advanced materials for industrial leadership, 
of 27.2.24, COM(2024) 98 final  

(57)4-year project, funded under Digital Europe. 
(58)  Flagship  2:  Enabling  deep  tech  innovation  through  experimentation  spaces  and  public  procurement  - 

European Commission (europa.eu). 
(59)See Regional Innovation Scoreboard. 
(60)  Including  EUR  56  billion  from  the  Cohesion  Funds  dedicated  to  research  and  innovation  and  EUR  3 

billion from Horizon Europe dedicated to widening access to R&I excellence. 

(61) See Regional Innovation Scoreboard. 

11 

 
 
 
Completed NEIA actions 

Developing  and  consolidating  synergies  between  cohesion-policy  programmes  and 
Horizon Europe are among the key actions to maximise the impact  of EU intervention in 
this  area.  The  Commission  published  the  guidance  document  on  synergies  between 
Horizon  Europe  and  the  European  Regional  Development  Fund  programmes (62)  in 
2022  to  help  managing  authorities  make  better  use  of  available  funding  opportunities  to 
foster innovation and the uptake of advanced technologies in their regions.  

Ongoing NEIA actions 

The  Regional  Innovation  Valleys  (RIVs)  action  aims  to  stimulate  and  exploit  the  full 
innovation potential of EU regions, including in deep-tech innovation, in view of addressing 
EU’s  burning  societal  challenges  and  bridging  the  innovation  divide.  Its  objective  is  to 
identify up to 100 regions committed to concentrate their research and innovation efforts on 
specific priorities and to strengthen their coordination with other regions. Priority areas are 
food security, digital transformation, energy, healthcare and circular economy. 

Regions can get the “RIV” label via different channels: 1) regions selected under a call for 
expression of interest, launched in March 2023 by the Commission and the Committee of 
the Regions, with 170 applicants (63) across 140 regions (64); 2) regions selected under the 
the  European  Regional 
first  coordinated  calls  under  Horizon  Europe  and 
Development Fund (I3), for a total budget of EUR 122 million (65): over 50 proposals were 
received with nearly 1000 participants from 25 Member States and 6 Associated Countries.  

In parallel, the action on doubling the number of so-called hydrogen valleys is ongoing. 
After the last selection run in 2023, there are currently 55 hydrogen valleys featuring in the 
Mission Innovation Hydrogen Valleys Platform, which was revamped in May 2023. In March 
2023,  the  Commission  signed  a  joint  declaration  on  hydrogen  valleys (66).  The  concept  of 
hydrogen valleys will also be extended to cover all renewable energies through a distinct 
topic under Horizon Europe. 

The action to set up a one-stop-shop for innovation ecosystem players is ongoing. The 
one-stop-shop  will:  (i)  provide  a  virtual  platform  to  interested  stakeholders  to  highlight  the 
demand for and supply of innovative solutions, as a first step coming from Horizon Europe; 
(ii)  provide  access  to  key  research  results;  (iii)  support  the  circulation  of  ideas;  and  (iv) 
connect stakeholders. The one-stop-shop will provide information on innovation challenges 
and opportunities (technology and market trends, intellectual property, demand levels, etc.) 
and make it easier to identify services and funding opportunities. Reflections are currently 
ongoing  on  how  to  provide  the  simplicity,  accessibility  and  functionalities  that  would  best 
serve the needs of the diversity of innovation stakeholders. 

(62)O.J. C421/7 of 4.11.2022. 
(63) See the Regional Innovation Valley Matchmaking map containing the database of eligible applicants. 
(64)  Regions  are  being  selected  that  demonstrate  their  commitment  to:  (i)  improving  the  coordination  and 
consistency of their R&I investments and policies towards key EU priorities; (ii) engaging in interregional 
collaboration  to  develop  innovation;  and  (iii)  strengthening  and  interconnecting  their  regional  innovation 
ecosystems. 

(65)  EUR  60  Million  from  Horizon  Europe  (European  Innovation  Ecosystem)  and  EUR  62  Million  from 

European regional Development Fund (Interregional Innovation Investment Instrument).   

(66)  Together  with  Hydrogen  Europe,  Hydrogen  Europe  Research  and  the  European  Hydrogen  Valleys 

Partnership. 

12 

 
  
 
In  June  2023,  the  Commission  launched  the  EIC  Scale-Up  100  initiative.  Its  goal  is  to 
identify, promote and support the growth of 100 promising European deep-tech companies 
with  the  potential  to  become  ‘unicorns’ (67).  Those  future  deep-tech  champions  will  be 
selected  from  the  top  performing  recipients  of  EIC  financial  schemes,  other  national  and 
European  innovation  programmes  and  elsewhere.  The  participating  companies  will  be 
selected from 10 ‘market opportunity’ areas (68) closely linked to European policy priorities. 
The selection of the first group will take place in April 2024. The EIC Scale-up Club will also 
engage  400  stakeholders  in  each  market-opportunity  area  and  will  facilitate  new 
connections and partnerships with lead investors, advisers and relevant agencies. 

Additional actions 

Under Horizon Europe, the European Innovation Ecosystems programme provided some 
EUR  24  million  in  funding  to  interregional  projects  bringing  together  almost  150  partners 
across  Europe  to  support  funding  scale-ups,  innovation  procurement,  and  innovation 
ecosystems. 

In 2023, the European Research Area (ERA) Forum set up a sub-group bringing together 
Member State representatives in charge of R&I policy and cohesion policy administrations. 
The  aim  of  the  sub-group  was  to  facilitate  future  synergies  through  the  exchange  of 
information and policy updates to stimulate concrete actions, inspired by the example of the 
transfer of European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funding to Horizon Europe 
in two Member States. (69) The Commission also launched two pilot projects to develop, in 
close contact with the Committee of the Regions, the concept of ERA hubs. The aim of the 
ERA hubs is to develop and test a set of specifications and a methodology to help regions 
assess, benchmark and upgrade their R&I ecosystems to achieve minimum quality criteria 
on: (i) internal coordination; (ii) the provision of supporting services; and (iii) interconnection 
with  other  ecosystems.  Furthermore,  in  the  context  of  the  “Widening”  part  of  Horizon 
Europe,  

In  January  2023,  the  Commission  launched  the  Plug-In  Scheme,  a  new  mechanism  that 
fosters closer collaboration between the EIC and national innovation programmes. Thanks 
to  it,  a  project  awarded  funding  under  a  national  programme  (certified  as  a  ‘plug-in’ 
programme) can participate via a fast track to the EIC accelerator calls. 

In the area of energy, the EU continued to be actively involved, together with 23 countries, 
in  Mission  Innovation (70)  a  global  initiative  focused  on  innovation  in  clean  energy.  This 
mission was at the origin of the first catalyst partnership announced at COP28 (71) in which 
EU funds support companies with potential to reduce the green premium of clean products 
and solutions in hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuels, energy storage, CO2 capture and the 

(67) A ‘unicorn’ is a company exceeding €1 billion USD in valuation. 
(68)  Next  generation  computing,  digital  security  &  trust,  new  space,  cardiovascular  therapies,  new  biotech 
platforms,  smart  mobility,  renewable  energies,  batteries  &  energy  storage,  clean  fuels  &  hydrogen,  and 
agro & food tech. 

(69) Malta and Lithuania. ERDF funds were or will be used to grant EIC, ERA widening or MSCA applicants.  
(70)Mission  Innovation  (MI)  is  a  global  initiative  of  23  countries  and  the  European  Union,  with  the  aim  of 
accelerating  effort  in  innovation  in  clean  energy  globally.  It  was  launched  at  COP21,  and  today  MI 
members represent over 95% of global government investment in clean-energy research and innovation. 
Partner  organisations  include  the  IEA,  IRENA,  Breakthrough  Energy,  the  World  Bank,  the  World 
Economic Forum, the Global Covenant of Mayors and the First Movers Coalition. For the next decade, MI 
members  are  concentrating  their  efforts  around  impact-oriented,  public-private  missions,  with  ambitious 
and inspirational goals that accelerate the pathway towards the Paris Agreement goals and net zero. 

(71) EU–Catalyst partnership (europa.eu). 

13 

 
 
 
decarbonisation  of  energy.  Mission  Innovation  also  runs  the  Clean-Hydrogen  Mission  to 
develop 100 ‘clean-hydrogen valleys’ worldwide, co-led by the European Commission.  

Furthermore,  the  Task-Force  on  climate-neutral  technologies  in  energy-intensive 
industries produced a report (72) in 2023 analysing around 200 EU-funded demonstrators 
for net-zero technologies in energy-intensive industries in the EU. 

In  October  2023,  the  Commission  issued  a  Communication (73)  on  the  revision  of  the 
strategic energy technology (SET) plan to strengthen the SET plan’s role in coordinating 
European  and  national  R&I  strategies  for  low-carbon  energy.  In  particular,  a  new  working 
group on hydrogen has been set up to implement the strategic agenda of the ERA pilot on 
green hydrogen (74). 

In  the  area  of  AI,  in  addition  to  the  AI  Act  and  its  proposals  on  innovation-friendly 
regulations (75)  the  Commission  is  working  to  assess  the  impact  of  AI  on  research  and 
innovation, through an opinion under the Scientific Advice Mechanism (76). 

than  200 European  digital 

Furthermore,  a  network  of  more 
innovation  hubs 
(EDIHs) covering  all  regions  of  Europe  (77)  aims  to  promote  the  broad  uptake  of  AI,  high-
performance computers, cybersecurity and other digital technologies. They help companies 
to  innovate  new  products  and  services  using  AI  and  help  to  make  these  products  and 
services competitive. The innovation package for AI innovation and startups (78) introduces 
AI  factories (79)  and  other  financial  and  operational  measures  that  will  boost  AI  innovation 
and startups, like providing access to world-class HPC to SMEs in AI via the EuroHPC Joint 
Undertaking. 

The  Chips  Act,  which  entered  into  force  on  21 September 2023,  aims  to  boost  Europe’s 
technological  leadership  by  facilitating  the  transfer  of  knowledge  and  by  promoting  the 
industrialisation of innovative technologies by European businesses (80). 

(72)Scaling up innovative technologies for climate neutrality. This report was accompanied by an interactive 
tool showing the innovative demonstrators on a map:  Demonstrators scaling up innovative technologies 
for climate neutral-industries around Europe | Research and Innovation (europa.eu). 

(73)COM(2023) 634 final. 
(74)  Expert  groups  of  the  agenda  process  (2022),  Strategic  Research  and  Innovation  Agenda,  Key  findings  and 
conclusions of the agenda process for the European research and innovation initiative on green hydrogen, Final 
version 
(https://www.bmbf.de/bmbf/shareddocs/downloads/files/SRIA_green_hydrogen.pdfhttps://www.bmbf.de/bmbf/s
hareddocs/downloads/files/SRIA_green_hydrogen.pdf).https://www.bmbf.de/bmbf/shareddocs/downloads/files/
SRIA_green_hydrogen.pdf). 

(75) See flagship area 2. 
(76) https://scientificadvice.eu.  
(77) De Nigris, S., Kalpaka, A. and Nepelski, D., Characteristics and regional coverage of the European Digital 

Innovation Hubs network, Publications Office of the European Union, JRC134620. 

(78) Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic 
and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  on  boosting  startups  and  innovation  in 
trustworthy artificial intelligence, of 24.1.2024, COM(2024) 28 final. 

(79) Under the Joint Undertaking on High PerformancePerforming Computers. 
(80)  The  ‘Chips  for  Europe’  initiative  within  the  Chips  Act,  to  be  run  by  the Chips  Joint  Undertaking,  will  be 
supported  by  EUR  3.3  billion  of  EU  funds,  which  is  expected  to  be  matched  by  funds  from  Member 
States. It will support activities such as: (i) new advanced pilot production lines to accelerate innovation 
and  technology  development;  (ii)  the  development  of  a  cloud-based  design  platform;  (iii)  the 
establishment  of  competence  centres;  (iv)  the  development  of  quantum  chips;  and  (v)  the  creation  of  a 
Chips Fund to facilitate access to debt financing and equity. 

14 

 
 
The  CASSINI  Space  Entrepreneurship  Initiative  is  the  Commission's  action  to  support 
entrepreneurs,  startups  and  SMEs  in  the  space  industry,  including  New  Space,  during 
2021-2027 (81).  It  should  accelerate  the  growth  of  startups  and  SMEs  in  all  sectors  of  the 
space  industry,  with  the  goal  of  enhancing  business-friendly  ecosystems,  bolstering 
business  capabilities  in  space  market  segments,  strengthening  critical  supply  chains  and 
allowing  the  EU  to  achieve  a  greater  degree  of  strategic  autonomy.  CASSINI  includes  an 
EUR 1 billion of EU seeds and growth fund, hackathons and mentoring, challenges, in-orbit 
demonstration and validation, a business accelerator, partnering and matchmaking.  

Horizon  Europe,  Cluster  6  “Food,  bioeconomy,  natural  resources,  agriculture  and 
environment” funds research and innovation to address the rural-urban innovation divide. 
In 2023, more than EUR 25 million have been programmed to fund projects supporting the 
rural  innovation  ecosystem  and  two  EU  partnerships  have  been  launched (82).  Further 
under Horizon Europe, the EU Mission “A soil deal for Europe” aims at establishing 100 
living  labs  and  lighthouses  to  lead  the  transition  towards  healthy  soils  by  2030.  In  2023, 
EUR 60 million have been invested in the first calls for living labs. 

Under  the  Common  Agriculture  Policy  (CAP),  over  3  200  European  Innovation 
Partnership  on  Agriculture  Productivity  and  Sustainability  (EIP-AGRI)  Operational  Groups 
have  been  supported  and  additional  6  600  are  planned  by  Member  States  in  their  CAP 
Strategic  Plans  for  the  period  2023-2027  to  co-create  practical  solutions  for  agriculture, 
forestry and rural communities in innovation projects at local level.  

In  December  2022,  the  Council  recommendation  on  the  guiding  principles  for 
knowledge  valorisation (83)  was  adopted  to  set  out  common  policy  principles  and 
measures  for  national,  regional  and  local  policy  makers  to  transform  R&I  results  into 
solutions  that  benefit  society.  The  guiding  principles  are:  (i)  to  engage  all  actors  in  R&I 
ecosystems;  (ii)  to  focus  on  connections  and  co-creation  between  actors;  and  (iii)  to 
emphasise entrepreneurial skills and practices. (84) 

In  addition,  two  “communities  of  practice”  on  industry-academia  collaboration (85)  and 
on citizen engagement for knowledge valorisation were set up by the Commission, bringing 
together more than 300 stakeholders from universities and private and public organisations, 
including civil society (86). They were active between March and June 2023. (87) 

(81) The initiative is open to all areas of the EU Space Programme, and covers both upstream (i.e. nanosats, 
launchers,  etc.  and  downstream  (i.e.  products/services  enabled  by  space  data,  etc.).  The  CASSINI 
ecosystem  consists  of  all  the  space-based  startups  and  SMEs  that  benefit  from  and  participate  to  the 
CASSINI supporting activities, provided by the Commission and its agencies (e.g., EUSPA, the European 
Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency, the European Health and Digital Executive Agency). 

(82) Including one on agroecology living labs and research infrastructures. 
(83) Council  Recommendation  (EU)  2022/2415  of  December  2022  on  the  guiding  principles  for  knowledge 

valorisation (OJ L 317, 9.12.2022, p. 141). 

(84) In  March  2023  the  Commission  adopted  two  recommendations  on  the  Code  of  practice  on  the 
management  of  intellectual  assets  and  the  Code  of  practice  on  standardisation  to  support  the 
implementation of the guiding principles and provide hands-on guidance for stakeholders. 

(85)Commission  Recommendation  (EU)  2023/499  of  1  March  2023  on  a  Code  of  Practice  on  the 
management of intellectual assets for knowledge valorisation in the European Research Area, (OJ L 69, 
7.3.2023, p. 75). 

(86)  These  communities  (groups  addressing  topics  of  common  interest)  prepared  inputs  for  the  Codes  of 
practice on industry-academia co-creation and citizen engagement for knowledge valorisation. These two 
Codes will introduce new strategic approaches for stakeholders to proactively seek for common interests 
to  jointly  produce  and  valorise  extract  value  from  knowledge.  They  will  help  to:  (i)  create  an  enabling 
environment and thriving conditions for co-creation; (ii), establish interactive models; and (iii) better match 
the supply and demand for innovation. 

15 

 
 
Also,  Member  States  and  Associated  Countries  announced  a  number  of  national 
initiatives  to  boost  innovation  ecosystems.  For  example,  the  regional  business 
lighthouses  in  Denmark  focus  on  cultivating  future  positions  of  strength  for  Danish 
businesses  within  the  green  sector  (bio-solutions,  water  technology,  CO2  capture),  life 
sciences, and robotics through support for specific projects. The ‘Cervera’ network grants 
in  Spain  also  directly  support  regional/local  ecosystems  and  strengthen  the  innovation 
capacities  of  SMEs  by  contracting  R&D  activities  to  knowledge-generating  centres  or 
carrying  out  R&D  projects  in  collaboration  with  these  centres.  In  Germany,  the  federal 
agency for disruptive innovation (SPRIND) runs several projects to support and accelerate 
innovative  ideas  including  a  competition  for  innovators.  The  Hydrogen  Center  is  an 
organisation seeking to improve access to research infrastructures in Slovenia and Austria. 
It  is  a  good  example  of  cross-border  cooperation  supported  by  EU  regional  funds  and 
national resources. 

  Fostering, attracting and retaining deep-tech talent 

The capacity to nurture, retain and attract talented and skilled individuals remains a priority 
for Europe, as also stressed during the 2023 European Year of Skills. To nurture talent, it is 
essential  to  make  efforts  to  increase  STEAM  education  and  entrepreneurial  skills, 
especially  among  women.  To  retain  talented  people,  new  opportunities  and  interesting 
growth  prospects  need  to  be  developed  and  promoted.  To  attract  talented  people  from 
other continents – in part to fill the skills gap in certain technological sectors – the EU can 
further  promote  itself  in  the  global  arena  and  facilitate  ‘circular  mobility’ (88)  opportunities. 
The  EU  is  complementing  Member  States’  actions  in  this  area  through  a  wide  variety  of 
policy initiatives (89) and EU-funded programmes (90), including the actions launched by the 
NEIA in this flagship area. 

Completed NEIA actions 

The  EIT  deep-tech  talent  initiative  (DTTI) (91)  is  an  ambitious  scheme  aiming  to  offer 
training opportunities to 1 million deep-tech talents by 2025. Launched in October 2022, the 
initiative (92) has so far involved 106 education and training providers, enterprises, financial 
partners,  and  institutional  partners  that  have  committed  to  train  more  than  700 000 
people (93). The recruitment of stakeholders to join the pledges will continue and events and 
calls for proposals will be launched starting in 2024. 

Launched  in  2022  by  the  EIC,  the  Women  Entrepreneurship  and  Leadership  Scheme 
(94)  provides  training  and  networking  opportunities  for  women-led  startups.  To  date,  the 

(87)  The  Communities  prepared  inputs  for  the  Codes  of  practice  on  industry-academia  co-creation  and 
citizen  engagement  for  knowledge  valorisation.  The  Codes  will  introduce  new  strategic  approaches 
for stakeholders to proactively seek for common interests to jointly produce and valorise knowledge. They 
will help create enabling environment and thriving conditions for co-creation, establish interactive models 
and better match the supply and demand for innovation. 

(88)As  opposed  to  brain  drain,  circular  mobility  is  an  approach  where  individuals  spend  some  part  of  their 

career abroad before going back in their Country of origin 

(89) Bologna and Lisbon process, ERA, European Education Area, Skills Agenda. 
(90)Next Generation EU, Erasmus+, Erasmus for young entrepreneurs, European Social Fund, Digital Europe 

Programme, MSCA, ERC. 

(91) https://www.eitdeeptechtalent.eu/.  
(92) It also includes a dedicated platform featuring training courses, the ‘DTTI Radar’ (an interactive tool on 

emerging technologies), a prize and an annual conference. 

(93) Source: https://www.eitdeeptechtalent.eu/.  
(94)EIT & EIC Women Entrepreneurship and Leadership Programme | EIT (europa.eu). 

16 

 
 
scheme  has  supported  almost  200  women-led  EIC  beneficiaries,  including  some  EIT-
funded  companies.  EUR  10-15  million  is  dedicated  every  year  to  these  calls.  The 
Commission will launch new calls under the 2023-2024 Horizon Europe work programme.  

The Education and Innovation Practice Community, gathering around 700 stakeholders 
from academia, private and public organisations in all EU Member States and several non-
EU countries, was set-up in October 2022, in cooperation with the OECD. The first strand of 
work,  including  peer  learning  activities  and  analytical  reports,  focused  on  strengthening 
higher  education-school  partnerships  for  green  and  digital  innovation.  The  second  strand 
supports competencies for innovation in mainstream higher education.   

The  Erasmus+  Alliances  for  Innovation  was  launched,  and  the  development  of  deep-
tech skills has been identified as a priority for 2023. This will aid and enhance the growth of 
incubators  within  higher  education  institutions,  working  closely  with  the  entrepreneurial 
sector.  The  objective  is  to  help  student  entrepreneurs  to  transform  their  ideas  into  viable 
businesses,  aligning  with  the  goals  outlined  in  the  European  strategy  for  universities. 
Selected  projects  are  currently  starting  their  work.  In  2023,  32  projects  were  selected  in 
several  sectors,  including  AI,  gaming,  manufacturing  and  deep-tech  innovation.  The  calls 
for  proposals  under  the  2024  ErasmusPlus  work  programme  will  maintain  and  strengthen 
the focus on deep-tech skills.  

The Digital Europe programme is focusing on advanced digital skills. Digital Europe calls 
to train experts in key-digital capacity areas were launched in November 2023  (95): one 
focusing  on  strengthening  skills  in  semiconductors  and  the  other  on  “Cybersecurity  Skills 
Academy”  (96).  Additionally,  the  call  “Boosting  digital  skills  of  young  people,  in  particular 
girls”, targeted the development of digital skills from an early age. 

Ongoing NEIA actions 

The Innovation Talent Pool platform will facilitate the mobility of skilled individuals to and 
within Europe through international recruitment, by supporting matchmaking with EU-based 
employers  that  are  unable  to  find  the  talent  they  need  in  Europe.  The  first  phase  of  the 
platform  (a  new  section  on  the  Euraxess  portal (97)  open  to  non-EU  nationals)  was 
launched in March 2023. It includes: (i) information on funding opportunities; (ii) information 
on  the  EU  ‘Blue  Card’  immigration  visa;  (iii)  contact  points  in  43  European  countries;  and 
(iv) a digital toolkit for startups helping them to launch a business in the EU. In the second 
phase, the platform will offer a matchmaking tool for innovators, entrepreneurs and talented 
workers across the globe who wish to create, work and live in Europe.  

Stock options represent an important incentive for employees to work in companies that offer 
them. The EIC Forum working group on stock options started work in March 2023 with the 
participation of EIC Forum members (Member States and Associated Countries), EIC Board 
members, external stakeholders and Commission representatives. Based on the outcome of 
future  working  group  meetings,  the  EIC  Forum  will  consider  drawing  up  a  list  of  good 
practices and proposals to tackle barriers to employee stock options across the EU in 2024. 

(95) Funding & tenders (europa.eu). 
(96) The  “Specialised  education  programmes  in  key  capacity  areas“  called  for  bachelor's  and  master's 
programmes as well as self-standing modules in key digital areas such as AI, data science, cybersecurity, 
Internet of Things, cloud computing, quantum technologies, blockchain, and robotics. 

(97) EURAXESS | (europa.eu) a one-stop shop for researchers. 

17 

 
 
The Next Generation Innovation Talents Scheme has been launched in 2023 and the first 
quarter of 2024. This is an internship scheme which will fund about 600 innovation internships 
for  researchers  and  students  over  a  2-year  period  in  companies  supported  by  the  EIC  and 
EIT,  covering  all  Member  States.  It  will  be  implemented  in  collaboration  with  the  EIT,  ERC, 
Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action, and Horizon Europe Research Infrastructures.  

Additional actions 

Several additional actions have been launched in the last 18 months, especially in AI and 
digital skills, to train Europeans, expand the talent pool in Europe, and develop advanced 
digital  skills  for  the  next  generation  of  innovators.  These  actions  include  the  European 
Skills Agenda, the Digital Education Action Plan, the Digital skills and jobs coalition. 
Also, the Digital Europe programme, focusing on the existing gap in advanced digital skills, 
has  selected  36  projects  by  the  end  of  2023  to  enhance  the  training  opportunities  for 
acquiring advanced digital skills and to boost the number of ICT graduates as well as ICT 
specialists and professionals in specific sectors with advanced digital skills (98).  

In  2022,  the  EIT’s  HEI  (Higher  Education  Institutions)  Initiative  announced  its  first  call 
for  proposals  with  a  special  focus  on  deep  tech (99).  Sixteen  projects,  involving  100  HEIs 
and 79 non-academic organizations, were selected, each receiving up to EUR 750,000 to 
enhance innovation capacity, particularly in deep tech. 

To boost innovation in Europe’s female-led deep-tech sector, the Women TechEU scheme 
offers  early-stage  financing  to  support  the  initial  steps  in  the  innovation  process,  and  the 
growth of companies. So far, it has funded 130 women-led deep-tech startups, and the next 
edition (100) will help women-led deep-tech startups to grow into tomorrow’s tech leaders. 

In  the  area  of  green  skills,  the  EIT  Girls  Go  Circular  Project,  addressing  primary  and 
secondary schools, has trained over 37 000 girls in 23 countries on circularity subjects, and 
will soon be broadened to include all Member States. 

As outlined in the European strategy for universities adopted in 2022, the development 
of  a  European  framework  for  diversity  and  inclusion  was  proposed,  including  on  gender 
gaps, to identify challenges and solutions for universities. To strengthen the participation of 
women  and  girls  in  STEAM  studies  and  careers,  the  Commission  launched  a  roadmap  of 
activities in 2022 and 2023, including the creation of a manifesto for gender-inclusive STEM 
and  STEAM  education  and  careers,  that  will  be  implemented  with  the  support  of  Horizon 
Europe Cluster 2 (‘Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society’) (101).  

Also, the European Universities alliances are instrumental in implementing the European 
strategy for universities including for closing the gender gap and increasing the proportion 
of  women  holding 
the 
development of support platform like the “Women in Tech” Manifesto, networks such as the 

leadership  positions.  Actions 

full  professorship  or 

include 

(98)In 2024 two additional calls for actions will be launched under “Digital Europe”, one for the continuation of 
the “Digital Skills and Jobs Platform” and the second to support “Girls and women in digital” by providing 
insights into the gender gap in the ICT professions in the EU. 

(99)The call required that applicants showed how they would build innovation capacity through the integration 

of deep tech talent-fostering activities. 

(100)https://eismea.ec.europa.eu/programmes/european-innovation-ecosystems/women-techeu_en.  
(101) https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101132652. 

18 

 
 
Female  Founder  Network  or  projects  with  pre-university  education 
attractiveness of STEAM careers (102).  

to  raise 

the 

To attract, retain and promote the mobility of talented workers – including, but not limited to 
the  innovation  sector  –  the  Commission  adopted  in  November  2023  a skills  and  talent 
mobility package. The package comprises a series of new measures designed to make 
the EU more attractive to talent from outside the EU, and to facilitate mobility within 
the  EU.  For  R&I  careers  specifically,  the  Commission  has  approved  a  competence 
framework  for  R&I  skills  ResearchComp(103)  while  the  proposal  on  a  European 
framework  to  attract  and  retain  research,  innovation  and  entrepreneurial  talent  in 
Europe was adopted in December 2023 as a Council recommendation (104). The adoption 
of  this  framework  underscored (105)  the  significance  of  inter-sectoral  mobility  in  achieving 
these objectives and the importance of the NEIA in this context. Furthermore, an ERA talent 
platform  is  being  developed  in  2024,  which  will  provide  access  for  talented  workers  to 
multiple  resources  for  R&I  careers  (including  to  Euraxess,  Resaver  (106)  and  the  planned 
Observatory on R&I careers). 

In  parallel,  Member  States  and  Associated  Countries  announced  a  number  of  national 
initiatives to nurture, retain or attract innovation talent. For example, the AI academy run 
in  Belgium  to  develop  deep-tech  skills  in  AI  for  researchers  and  companies  will  boost 
academic  careers  in  AI  areas.  The  female  innovators  programme  in  Austria  provides 
targeted  support  for  highly  qualified  female  researchers  and  innovators  in  areas  including 
leadership,  entrepreneurship  and  networking.  The  tech  visa  in  France,  the  startup 
residence programme in Malta, and the startup visa scheme in Cyprus all seek to attract 
international tech talent by providing a simplified procedure and support for people working 
in  the  tech  ecosystem.  Sweden  also  issued  a  call  to  attract,  integrate  and  retain 
international  excellence,  providing  financial  support  for  employers  to  recruit  research 
talent  and  Marie  Sklodowska-Curie  Fellows.  In  the  Republic  of  North  Macedonia,  a  ‘fab 
lab’ (107)  and  ‘maker  spaces’  have  been  set  up  to  provide  young  people  with  the 
conditions for developing innovative products, services or processes.  

  Improving the tools for innovation policy-making  

The diverse and evolving landscape of innovation definitions, policies, and data among the 
27 Member States are in the focus of the fifth flagship of the NEIA. NEIA actions in this area 
aim  at:  (i)  facilitating  a  common  approach  on  some  key  features  to  improve  coordination 
and cooperation; and (ii) improving on-demand capacity support for Member States in their 
efforts to boost domestic innovation ecosystems and policies. 

(102)The alliances also promote STEM disciplines for example with STEM Innovation Contests for students to 

solve real-world challenges in cooperation with STEM-related industries. 

(103)https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/jobs-research/researchcomp-european-competence-

framework-researchers_en#what-is-researchcomp.  

(104)Council Recommendation of 18 December 2023 on a European framework to attract and retain research, 

innovation and entrepreneurial talents in Europe (C/2023/1640). 

(105)Council Recommendation of 18 December 2023 on a European framework to attract and retain research, 

innovation and entrepreneurial talents in Europe (C/2023/1640). 

(106)RESAVER  is  a  Penson  Fund  addressed  to  researchers  with  European  mobility  RESAVER  Home  | 

RESAVER. 

(107) Fab labs (fabrication laboratories) are small scale workshop with open access for digital initiatives  

19 

 
 
 
Completed NEIA actions 

A  report  on  definitions  related  to  startups,  scale-ups  and  deep-tech  innovation  was 
produced in March 2023. Building on this report, a study on work to create a pilot European 
startup scoreboard will be launched under Horizon Europe in 2024. Based on this study, a 
set of indicators will be drawn up that may be used to update future European Innovation 
Scoreboards (108). 

Ongoing NEIA actions 

The  EIC  Forum  gathers  representatives  of  Member  States  and  Associated  Countries  to 
exchange  best  practices  and  improve  coordination.  It  regularly  meets  both  in  plenary 
sessions and in thematic working groups (109). Based on this work, the EIC Forum adopted 
annual  policy  orientations  in  2022 (110)  and  2023 (111).  The  Commission  will  continue  to 
consolidate the role, working arrangements and visibility of the EIC Forum, to strengthen its 
position as a high-level platform that both facilitates the coordination of innovation policies 
and provides early advice to the Commission on strategic innovation policy issues. 

Additional actions  

in  various 

The Commission is also helping Member States and regions to design and implement more 
effective  and  impactful  innovation  policies  through  the  Technical  Support  Instrument 
(TSI) (112) and the Horizon Policy Support Facility (PSF) (113). The TSI has supported 13 
Member  States (114) 
innovation-advisory 
projects,  such  as  “Overcome  barriers 
in  regional  entrepreneurship 
to 
ecosystems”  in  Spain  or  the  “Startup  ecosystem  strategy”  in  Romania.  The  PSF  has 
provided practical support both to specific Member States115 for their domestic efforts and 
to groups of countries with the PSF mutual learning exercise (116). The PSF will continue to 
support  the  design  and  implementation  of  structural  reforms  in  Member  States,  including 
through  the  use  of  the  new,  more  flexible  PSF  Open  instrument  and  peer  policy  learning 
thanks to the PSF-Challenge. 

innovation-capacity-building  and 
innovation 

To strengthen innovation-driven territorial transformation, the pilot action Partnerships for 
Regional  Innovation  (PRI) (117)  was  launched  in  May  2022  by  the  Commission  in 
cooperation with the Committee of the Regions. It was accompanied by the publication of a 
PRI playbook (118) presenting policy tools and practices common in Europe and beyond. As 

(108) https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/04797497-25de-11ee-a2d3-01aa75ed71a1.  
(109)  they  discuss  subjects  such  as  innovation  policy,  innovation  procurement  and  data,  employee  stock 

options or the EIC Plug-In. 

(110) https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/71293c89-75ed-11ed-9887-01aa75ed71a1\.  
(111) https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/d120bc6d-9efa-11ee-b164-01aa75ed71a1.  
(112)TSI under Next Generation. 
(113) See https://ec.europa.eu/research-and-innovation/en/statistics/policy-support-facility 
(114) Italy, Spain, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Czechia, Malta, Poland, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Lithuania, 

Portugal, Slovenia. 

(115) Including Croatia, Czechia, Greece and Romania. 
(116) Concerning, for example, knowledge valorisation, industrial decarbonisation, and missions. 
(117) 74 

including  4  Member  States  and  63 

took  part 

territories, 

regions, 

in 

the  pilot.  See: 

https://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pri.  

(118) Pontikakis, D., Gonzalez Vazquez, I., Bianchi, G., Ranga, L., Marques Santos, A., Reimeris, R., Mifsud, 
S.,  Morgan,  K.,  Madrid  Gonzalez,  C.  and  Stierna,  K.,  Partnerships  for  Regional  Innovation  Playbook, 
EUR  31064  EN,  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  Luxembourg,  2022  available  at 
https://dx.doi.org/10.2760/775610.  

20 

 
 
a result of the pilot, an ‘action book’ (119) on innovation for place-based transformation has 
been published. 

For  the  past  two  years,  the  Joint  Research  Centre  of  the  Commission  (JRC)  has  been 
supporting  the  EIC  in  building  its  strategic  intelligence  capacity  through  the  development 
and  use  of  foresight  and  other  future-oriented  approaches,  by  capturing  insights  on 
emerging 
through  a 
participatory  multi-stakeholder  approach,  provides,  among  other  outputs,  expert-based 
evidence to support EIC funding prioritization. 

innovations. (120)  This  process, 

technologies  and  disruptive 

At  international  level,  the  EU  is  working  closely  with  partner  countries  and  regions  on 
innovation cooperation for mutual benefit, such as under the Trade and Technology Council 
with  the  US.  Other  examples  include:  the  African  Union-EU  Innovation  Agenda,  that 
supports  the  uptake  of  research  results  focused  on:    public  health,  green  transition, 
innovation,  technology  and  capacities  for  science,  to  foster  jobs  and  growth  and  to  share 
technology  and  expertise;  the  EU-India  Trade  and  Technology  Council,  boosting  bilateral 
cooperation  in  green  and  clean  energy  with  a  focus  on  R&I  cooperation,  standards,  and 
investments,  aimed  at  facilitating  trade  in  these  technologies;  and  the  revised  EU-CELAC 
roadmap for R&I will have a strengthened, with an innovation dimension. 

The  NEIA  is  implemented  in  the  context  of  a  large  international  toolbox,  including  Green 
Alliances  and  Partnerships,  Raw  Material  Partnerships,  Digital  Trade  Agreements  and 
Digital Partnerships. In fact, most sectors of the European economy require trans-national 
digital  inputs,  that  are  fundamental  for  their  business  models,  processes  and  innovation 
pipelines,  as  well  as  international  connectivity,  which  is  crucial  to  ensure  that  they  can 
operate  at  a  global  scale.  To  that  end,  the  EU  has  concluded  free  trade  agreements 
containing digital trade provisions, including data flows. The EU is also currently negotiating 
specific digital trade agreements with partners such as South Korea and Singapore. 

Cooperation  with  China  on  innovation  actions  under  Horizon  Europe (121)  has  been 
suspended,  pending  progress  in  the  discussions  on  framework  conditions  for  innovation 
under the EU-China Joint Roadmap for Science, Technology and Innovation. 

The EIT has also been strengthening its activities in the Western Balkan economies, Turkey 
as well as Ukraine to build-up their innovation capacity and, establish connections with their 
European counterparts.  (122) 

In  the  past  18  months,  Member  States  and  Associated  Countries  announced  several 
national  initiatives  to  develop  tools  and  instruments  to  optimise  the  performance of  their 
innovation  ecosystems.  For  example,  the  Observatory  on  Innovation  in  Czechia,  an 
independent entity to monitor, analyse, evaluate and produce intelligence on innovation and 
competitiveness,  supports  decision-making  on  public  policy.  In  Austria,  the  Startup 
Council  and  the  Startup  Dealroom,  an  online  platform,  provides  an  overview  of  all 
startups  and  investors  active  in  the  country  with  daily  updates.  The  Deep-tech  Startups 
Observatory in France continuously collects and analyses data related to the French deep-

(119)https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC135826. 
(120)This includes direct support to EIC activities, from short to medium term regular operations and strategy, 
and  considering  key  events  such  as  the  Horizon  Europe  mid-term  review  and  the  development  of  the 
next Framework Programme. 

(121)Based  on  Article  22(6)  of  the  Horizon  Europe  Regulation,  the  cooperation  is  suspended  for  the  Work 

Programme 2023-24 on innovation close-to-market actions. 

(122) See in particular the EIT Jumpstarter programme. 

21 

 
 
tech  landscape,  providing  information  on:  (i)  where  deep-tech  is  happening,  in  what 
industrial sectors and with what technologies; (ii) the funds raised by deep-tech companies; 
and (iii) the impact of deep-tech innovations on turnover and employment. 

3.  INSTITUTIONAL DIALOGUE, STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT 

AND COMMUNICATION 

  Interactions with other EU institutions 

The  dialogue  and  interactions  with  other  EU  institutions  and  bodies  has  been  continuous 
since the launching of the NEIA.  

The Council discussed the NEIA under its various presidencies in both 2022 and 2023. For 
instance, Council Conclusions under the Czech Presidency (123) underlined the importance 
of  adapting  to  the  new  wave  of  innovation  and  emphasised  the  need  to  boost  synergies 
among existing funding programmes and initiatives. 

Council  Conclusions  under  the  Spanish  Presidency (124)  focused  on  regional  ecosystems, 
measures  to  close  the  innovation  divide,  and  innovation  procurement.  In  particular,  the 
Council  called  for  more  actions  at  national  level  and  invited  the  Commission  to  further 
explore  ways  to  support  innovation  procurement.  A  conference  on  this  subject  will  take 
place in 2024 under the initiative of the Belgian Presidency (125).  

The  NEIA  was  the  subject  of  an  oral  question  with  debate  in  the  plenary  session  of  the 
European  Parliament  in  October  2023 (126).  On  that  occasion,  several  members  of  the 
Parliament  from  various  political  groups  called  for  more  investment  in  innovation,  greater 
synergies  between  programmes,  more  opportunities  for  SMEs  in  innovation,  and  more 
opportunities for women in innovation. They deplored that Europe is lagging behind the US, 
South Korea, Japan and China. 

The  Economic  and  Social  Committee  has  issued  an  opinion  on  introducing  a  European 
stress test for innovation (127) for the new policy initiatives in this area in order to strengthen 
European  innovation  ecosystems.  The  Committee  of  the  Regions  is  contributing  to  the 
debate  on  regional  innovation  ecosystems  and  has  actively  backed  the  ‘regional  innovation 
valleys’ initiative, which is partially built on the Partnerships for Regional Innovations initiative. 

Furthermore,  the  Commission  has  engaged  in  a  structured  dialogue  with  the  European 
Investment Bank Group to discuss how the latter can best contribute to the first flagship 
area  of  NEIA,  including  through  the  InvestEU  programme,  ESCALAR  and  the  European 
Tech Champions initiative.  

(123) Council Conclusions on the New European Innovation Agenda, 2 December 2022.  
(124) Council Conclusion on strengthening the role and impact of research and innovation in the policymaking 

process in the Union, 8 December 2023. 

(125) March 19-20 2024, during the 2024 R&I week in Brussels. 
(126)  Question  for  oral  answer O-000038/2023  to  the  Commission  by  Cristian-Silviu  Buşoi  on  behalf  of  the 

Committee on Industry, Research and Energy. 

(127)https://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/our-work/opinions-information-reports/opinions/introducing-european-

innovation-stress-test.  

22 

 
 
 
  Dialogue with stakeholders 

The implementation of the NEIA actions has been accompanied by a constructive dialogue 
with stakeholders from the innovation sector. In particular, the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ (128) 
composed of more than 80 members from public and private organisations, was set up with 
the  purpose  of  enriching  the  NEIA  with  additional  complementary  initiatives  taken  in 
national, local, or private contexts. The aim was to facilitate collaboration and give visibility 
to  best  practices.  As  part  of  this  work,  the  Coalition  of  the  Willing  announced  nearly  80 
actions in support of the NEIA. 

  Communication activities and events on NEIA actions 

Several communication activities have been carried out to promote the NEIA and its added 
value  across  Europe,  including  to  the  innovation  community,  policy  makers,  the  financial 
actors and the wider public. Since the adoption of the NEIA, the Commission has organised 
or participated in more than 100 events across Europe (often in cooperation with Member 
States) and beyond, including the first European Innovation Days in Silicon Valley in March 
2023 (129).  The  dedicated  Europa  website  section (130)  is  constantly  updated  and  the 
Commission carries out ad hoc communication activities, including press and social media 
actions on the occasion of specific events or new developments of the NEIA (131). The NEIA 
has  also  been  a  regular  item  on  the  agendas  of  the  R&I  enhanced  dialogues  that  the 
Commission  organises  with  Member  States,  as  well  as  on  the  agendas  of  Joint 
Committees’ meetings with the Horizon Europe Associated Countries. 

4.  NEXT STEPS AND CHALLENGES AHEAD 

The  implementation  of  the  NEIA  is  progressing  well.  Among  the  25  actions  set  out  in  the 
NEIA  (132) 13  have  been  completed  and  12  are  ongoing.  In  parallel,  as  explained  in  this 
report,  several  additional  actions  at  both  European  and  national  level  support  the 
implementation  of  the  NEIA  and  contribute  to  its  objectives.  The  completions  and  full 
implementation  of  the  NEIA,  together  with  enhanced  coordination  and  exchange  of  good 
practices with and amongst Member States, will constitute important contributions to boost 
European innovation and competitiveness.  

The  Commission  will  continue  to  monitor  and  report  on  the  progress  and  impact  of  the 
actions identified in the NEIA. This will be done in close cooperation with the EIC Forum. In 
parallel, the Commission will continue to boost its dialogue with innovation actors, also with 
a  strengthened  communication  and  advocacy  strategy  on  the  NEIA,  called  ‘Innovation 
Made in Europe’. 

(128) https://www.coalitionofthewilling.eu.  
(129) See flagship 1, within ‘additional actions’. 
(130) The New European Innovation Agenda - European Commission (europa.eu) 
(131) Examples: the publication of the regional ‘innovation valleys’ calls; the adoption of proposals for DEBRA 

Directive and Listing Act; the publication of the guidance document on regulatory sandboxes, etc. 

(132)  See List of actions in Annex 1. 

23 

 
 
 
 
 
ANNEX I - List of actions in the NEIA 

Title (Flagship – Actions) 
Flagship: Funding for deep-tech scale-ups 
(1) 

(2) 
(3) 

(4) 

Directive  on  debt-equity  bias-reduction  allowance  (DEBRA)  on 
corporate income tax, Commission proposal 
Listings Act, Commission proposal 
Expansion  of  the  European  Scale-Up  Action  for  Risk  Capital 
(ESCALAR) mechanism 
EIC  WP  2022  Pilot  European  innovation  gender  and  diversity 
index 
EIT Women2Invest Programme 

Completed on 

Q2 2022 

Q4 2022 
Ongoing 

Ongoing 

(5) 
Flagship: Enabling deep-tech innovation through experimentation spaces and public 
procurement 
(6) 
(7) 
(8) 

Guidance document on regulatory sandboxes  
Open-innovation test bed in renewable hydrogen 
Launch  Testing  and  Experimentation  Facilities  for  testing  AI 
innovation 
Revised  State  Aid  Framework  for  Research  and  Development 
and Innovation 
Launch of specialist advisory service on innovation procurement   Ongoing 

Q3 2023 
Ongoing 
Q1 2023 

Q4 2022 

Q4 2022 

(9) 

the  EU  and  addressing 

(10) 
Flagship:  Accelerating  and  strengthening  innovation  in  European 
innovation  ecosystems  across 
the 
innovation divide 
(11) 
(12) 

Set up and connect regional deep-tech innovation valleys 
Commission  notice  on  synergies  between  Horizon  Europe  and 
European Regional Development Fund programmes 
Double the number of hydrogen valleys in the EU 
Set up a one-stop shop for players in innovation ecosystems 
Launch the ‘Scale-up 100’ 

(13) 
(14) 
(15) 
Flagship: Fostering, attracting and retaining deep-tech talents 
(16) 
(17) 
(18) 

Launch EIT deep-tech talent initiative 
Launch innovation intern scheme 
Launch an EU talent pool to help businesses, including startups, 
to find talent from outside the EU  
Set up Women Entrepreneurship and Leadership scheme 
Exchange of best practice on startup employees’ stock options 
Community of practice on education and innovation 
Launch Erasmus+ Alliances for Innovation 
Launch  Digital  Europe  call  to  train  experts  in  future-oriented 
fields 

(19) 
(20) 
(21) 
(22) 
(23) 

Flagship: Improving policy-making tools 
(24) 

Report  on  definitions  related  to  startups,  scale-ups  and  deep-
tech innovation 
Strengthen the role of the European Innovation Council Forum 

(25) 

24 

Ongoing 
Q3 2022 

Ongoing 
Ongoing 
Ongoing 

Q4 2022  
Ongoing  
Ongoing  

Q4 2022 
Ongoing  
Q4 2022 
Q2 2023 
Q3 2022 

Q1 2023 

Ongoing  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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The New European Innovation Agenda (NEIA) is an action plan 
launched by the European Commission in July 2022, with the 
objectives of boosting innovation in Europe, especially in  
deep-tech sectors. It addresses areas such as access to finance, 
talent development, experimentation spaces and innovation 
ecosystems. This report takes stock of the state of play of 
the NEIA: less than two years after its launching, all the 25 
actions have been launched and 12 of them have already been 
completed. Additional EU initiatives and around 200 actions 
taken by Member States and Associated Countries contribute to 
the goals of the NEIA and pave the way for a future reinforced 
“Innovation Made in Europe”.  

Research and Innovation policy