Debate: New European innovation agenda
Date: WEDNESDAY, 18 OCTOBER 2023
Speaker: Iliana Ivanova
Language: EN

Innovation has a crucial role in achieving the ambitions of our European Green Deal, not only to develop cutting-edge technologies and support decarbonisation but also to create jobs, stimulate our economy and ensure a just transition. That is why at least 35 % of our Horizon Europe programme budget will be dedicated to projects linked to the green transition. And because none of this will be possible without having citizens on board, Horizon Europe has introduced the EU missions that place people at the heart of our agenda for research and innovation. The European Partnership’s EUR 6.5 billion will also boost areas such as clean hydrogen or the industrial battery value chain. Our main instruments include the InvestEU programme and the European Innovation Council, which supports deep tech start-ups and scale-ups, also through equity investments. The Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform will reinforce the existing EU instruments even further. Let me underline also the important role played by women in innovation. Within the new European Innovation Agenda we are running several dedicated programmes and calls such as the Women Leadership Programme for female entrepreneurs and Women2Invest to help women in STEAM Studies launch their careers in venture investment. The push for innovation must include the entire Union and improve innovation cohesion, which leads me to my third point: regional disparities in research and innovation performance still remain deep across the EU and are hindering our ability to scale up innovations. We need to mobilise all available EU and national programmes. They include EUR 43 billion under the Cohesion Policy, over EUR 3 billion under the Widening part of Horizon Europe and EUR 48 billion under the Recovery and Resilience Facility. We are working hard to improve synergies between these programmes, to identify bottlenecks and to improve coordination. One concrete example is the 100 Regional Innovation Valleys Initiative that is launched within the European Innovation Agenda. It will bring together less and more innovative regions to help bridge the innovation divide, utilising both Horizon Europe and regional funds. Regarding innovation and cultural and creative industries, we provide grants to promote cross-sector partnerships between cultural entities and technology sectors, supporting the integration of emerging technologies and fostering cultural education and skills development. The importance of SMEs is also crucial for us and several actions are supporting access to finance for SMEs, such as the proposed Listing Act and the DEBRA Directive to facilitate equity investments. Let me remind the important role of the European Innovation Council in this regard, which aims at addressing both high-risk research and the scaling-up of SMEs or Start-Ups. The Commission also fully recognises the complementarity between research and technology infrastructures. Ensuring synergies between both types of facilities is essential for adequate provision of research and innovation services needed by industry. We are currently developing a European approach to technology infrastructures, including a study and an expert group, while Horizon Europe supports specific thematic projects to strengthen the continuum between research infrastructures and technology infrastructures. Honourable Members, innovation is in the DNA of Europe and it should continue to be at the centre of our policies, because we all know very well that there are no solutions to climate change and no long-term prosperity without innovation and without a clear commitment to it. Thank you for raising its relevance through today’s debate.