European Research & Innovation Days

“For National Contact Points, it is crucial to remain up to date with the evolving Research and Innovation landscape to provide the best possible support to our clients. With the European Commission releasing numerous communications and strategies, such as the Start-up and Scale-up Strategy and the Life Sciences Strategy, this event offered a valuable overview of key milestones and developments. It also provided important insights into the upcoming framework programme and its intersections with the European Competitive Fund, while creating a space to hear directly from the R&I community, capturing both innovative ideas and constructive criticism.”

Marie-Elisabeth Colin_NCP Health, EU Missions

“Indeed, an inspirational event ahead of the next Horizon Europe – FP10! Inspiring to see such high expectations within the R&I community gathering in Brussels these two days. We remain hopeful that NCP Brussels will rise to meet them.”

Ji-Hyeon Kim Vanguers_NCP Coordinator

About

Across two days and more than 20 sessions, the programme explores Europe’s competitiveness and industrial leadership including debates on the Startup and Scaleup Strategy, the European Life Sciences Strategy, the AI in Science Strategy and the European Innovation and European Research Area Acts. From high-level panels to hands-on breakouts and focused networking, Research and Innovation Days link policy with real-world impact.

More on: https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/events/european-research-and-innovation-days_en

Opening Speech of the Research & Innovation Days

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Welcome to the R&I Days!

Thank you for being a part of this celebration of European excellence.

This is a great opportunity to meet face to face.

To hear your ideas.

To discover the projects that are changing Europe, driven by your talent and our funding.

From needle-free injections to clean helicopters for search-and-rescue.

You can see (and hear!) outside this room the drone technologies funded by the European Innovation Council, where deeptech builds on multidisciplinary science!

We just heard together from President von der Leyen.

I want to stress her words: this Commission is determined to make Europe the best place for R&I and for technology companies.

This is key for our competitiveness.

The President already highlighted some of our recent achievements.

We have proposed doubling Horizon Europe.

We presented plans to make Europe the home of startups, scaleups, and life sciences.

I am also very happy to announce that only yesterday the Commission adopted a new Strategy for research and technology infrastructures.

These initiatives prove we have momentum and a clear sense of direction.

They shine a light in the current global context,  where science and innovation face real pressure.

I recently heard about a team[1] of US scientists investigating a major crop disease.

They suffered severe budget cuts and many lost their position.

One professor said, “I really fear for the future of science.”

Sad words to hear from a scientist, because there is no future without science.

In Europe, however, the future of science and innovation is one of hope, not fear.

A few months ago, we announced the “Choose Europe” initiative.  To attract and retain talent in Europe.

We are already seeing the results of this initiative. Applications from outside Europe to the European Research Council have grown to almost four times the previous level.

And next year we will launch the ERC “Plus Grants”. These will provide outstanding researchers with up to 7 million euros in funding for a duration of up to seven years.

On the 1^st of October, the Marie Sklodowska-Curie “Choose Europe” call will open, providing stable career opportunities for more than one hundred young researchers.

And we are not working alone. Member States have also joined us: there are now over 70 national and regional initiatives designed to attract researchers and retain talent in Europe.

For many, Europe is already a continent of opportunity, stability, and free knowledge.

Let me give you one example.

Doctor Martha Mayorquín-Torres[2] left her country, Mexico, with the hope of finding better research conditions.

In Europe, she found the right support, a team of excellent minds, and cutting-edge laboratories.

She joined a Horizon project, TransPharm at Ghent University.

There, she is developing new pharma solutions from renewable resources.

Hers is just one story.

This year alone, our European research careers portal attracted more than twice as many visitors as last year.

So, our mission is clear: to prepare a bright future for science and innovation.

With that in mind, we will enshrine scientific freedom into European law.

We will improve research careers.

And we will tackle the persistent obstacles faced by women in science.

These are key objectives of the European Research Area Act that we will discuss tomorrow.

Science is the basis for groundbreaking innovation. And for this reason, I am also the first Commissioner for startups.

We will ensure that Europe is the best place in the world both to start a tech company and to scale it too.

This is why we are working on a new Scaleup Europe Fund, with private investors, building on the success of the European Innovation Council.

This is also why we will support the best accelerators in Europe to create a network of startup and scaleup hubs.

It is possible to maintain regulation with high standards which at the same time is business friendly.

Regulation should work for innovation, not against it.

With regulatory sandboxes, with a simple European regime for companies, with accessible procurement for startups.

This is what we will address with the European Innovation Act and the 28th regime next year.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today is about looking ahead, with confidence and optimism.

I hope you will let yourself be inspired by our R&I Days.

For the better. 

Thank you.

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