The Draghi report, which spans about 320 pages, mentions the word “innovation” 400 times. It seems like innovation is treated as a magic word. How can it become more than just a buzzword and truly drive Europe’s competitiveness?
You’re right; sometimes innovation becomes a sort of all-encompassing buzzword for future solutions, particularly in discussions about competitiveness. However, it’s also clear that without innovation, Europe cannot become more competitive. To address this, we need to examine the recommendations in the Draghi report more closely. At the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), we focus on four key recommendations that align with our mission.
First, the Draghi report highlights the importance of commercializing innovation—turning research into innovative products and services. This is central to what the EIT does. Second, it emphasizes closer cooperation between universities, particularly higher education institutions, and businesses.
Our innovation projects foster such collaborations, accelerating and streamlining the process of creating startups, transferring technologies, and connecting academia with industry.
Third, there is a strong focus on fostering startups. Events like today’s EIT Jumpstarter are perfect examples of this, as they guide individuals with ideas on their journey to launching business startups. Later, you’ll see awards given to some of these successful ventures.
Lastly, one of the main recommendations in the Draghi report is closing the skills gap in Europe.
While new technologies emerge rapidly, the education system often struggles to adapt quickly enough to meet demand. At EIT, we emphasize education, entrepreneurship, and skills development to address this issue.
Based on the Draghi report, I believe EIT’s activities are at the heart of what Europe needs.
InnoStars: advancing healthcare innovation in the Western Balkans and beyond
EIT Health InnoStars, headquartered in Budapest, is a key regional branch of EIT Health, a leading European innovation network created by the EIT, focusing on healthcare and healthy living. In 2025, InnoStars aims to further enhance regional healthcare ecosystems with a significant focus on the Western Balkans.
A planned collaboration with the Bulgarian Digital Health Innovation Cluster will support Bulgarian companies, serving as a vital bridge between the local healthcare ecosystem and the broader EU innovation landscape.
The organisation also plans to host a major hackathon in Sarajevo, centered on the European Health Data Space (EHDS). As part of its strategic expansion, InnoStars seeks to attract new partners from Turkey, Albania, Bosnia, Serbia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Romania, targeting key markets across Central and Eastern Europe. Concurrently, InnoStars continues to position Debrecen University as a regional hub for innovation.
What is the main problem with the innovation landscape in Europe? The EU is the world’s largest investor in civilian R&D projects, although the U.S. leads when military spending is included. Billions of euros are allocated to R&D through the common budget, and member states also support innovation and research in various fields. So, what is the main issue?
First, I believe Europe has made significant progress. There are far more innovative startups now, and ecosystems have grown stronger. If you look at any indicator, the innovation capacity of member states has increased.
But is it enough? No. That’s why the Draghi report calls for scaling up—providing much larger-scale support.
This is partly a matter of scale, numbers, and budget. Even with the EU’s current €100 billion framework program, which sounds like a lot, it isn’t sufficient when distributed among member states. For instance, EIT has a budget of €3 billion for around seven years.
For seven years?
For less than seven years. If you divide €3 billion across seven years, then split it among our 10 Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs)—such as climate, energy, health, and food—and further divide it across 27 countries, you end up with something like €1 million per year per topic. Can you transform the sustainable energy sector in Poland or Germany with €1 million? No, but you can set important impulses and provide direction, also leverage public money to provide more private capital and investments.
You have to interpret these figures in the context of the breadth of activities they support. One of the main conclusions of the Draghi report is that Europe’s approach to innovation lacks the scale seen in the United States. While public funding is available for companies and startups, private funding is far less accessible. Additionally, European companies face significantly greater challenges in accessing stock markets compared to their U.S. counterparts.
How can the EIT help startups grow and ensure they stay in Europe instead of moving to the United States? Given the EIT’s limited investment resources, how do you support these companies?
The EIT provides limited investments to companies. Other programs, such as the European Innovation Council (EIC), can provide much larger direct investments to innovative companies to help them scale up and grow. But as you rightly point out, this can’t be a European effort alone. Public funding must be complemented by private funding, especially venture capital, which needs to be mobilized.
Although private investment is growing, it’s still not at the level we see in the U.S., as you mentioned.
What EIT can do is accelerate the process of scouting, developing, and supporting early-stage startups. We help them connect with customers and investors.
Innovation isn’t just about a one-time financial injection; it’s about securing talent, clients, and market access. That’s where our ecosystem excels.
Do all EU member states have an equal opportunity to support startups? Is it more difficult for startups from Central and Eastern Europe to access funding or promote their ideas compared to those in Western Europe?
The European Commission’s Innovation Scoreboard addresses this question, showing the innovation capacity of member states. Significant disparities exist, which is why we use this scoreboard to identify countries eligible for extra support under the EIT Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS).
Programs like the EIT Jumpstarter and our hub networks aim to increase capacity in these regions.
These efforts acknowledge that startups and talents from lower-capacity regions often require additional resources to succeed.
How can the EU foster better cross-border collaboration among startups? Is it even more challenging to encourage cooperation between companies and researchers from different countries?
It’s not always easy, even within a single country. Cross-border cooperation can be even more challenging. That’s precisely why we’ve developed an ecosystem, using Horizon Europe funds, to accelerate this process and help companies find the support they need—whether it’s investment, talent, or clients – the EIT supports you at any stage.
A common criticism of EU R&D funding, especially the Horizon program, is that it disproportionately benefits larger universities and wealthier countries. How can smaller institutions, like universities in Hungary, compete with well-funded counterparts like the University of Leuven or the Sorbonne? Can the EIT help level the playing field?
This challenge exists broadly in the EU’s R&D framework, but it’s not the case within the EIT. Around half of our funding, results, and skill development efforts are directed at countries with lower innovation capacities—what we call the widening countries or those included in the EIT Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS). This focus is deliberate.
Over the past decade, we’ve built mechanisms to ensure equitable coverage across Europe.
Today, almost half of EIT’s activities take place in these regions, and we’re proud of that achievement. It shows our commitment to bridging the gap and supporting researchers and startups in areas where innovation capacity is historically lower.
Cooperation within the EU can be difficult, but how does the EIT address collaboration with countries outside the EU, such as those in the Western Balkans? Can innovation and R&D partnerships aid in the accession process for these regions?
The Western Balkans are a key focus area for us. Through the Regional Innovation Scheme, we’ve started to provide targeted support in these regions, and we’re already seeing some initial successes. Over the past few years, we’ve allocated €5 million specifically for innovation activities in the Western Balkans and established dedicated hubs in Serbia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia. Plans are underway to expand these efforts to Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Our approach in these regions mirrors what has worked well in EU member states with lower innovation capacities. By transferring best practices and creating tailored support structures, we aim to build a stronger innovation ecosystem in the Western Balkans and other candidate countries.
Given your experience with EU accession processes, how do you see the role of institution building in fostering innovation in candidate countries like those in the Western Balkans?
My previous work focused on preparing countries for EU accession, particularly in institution building. This is critical not only for adopting EU legislation but also for developing the capacity to access and effectively use EU funds—whether they’re pre-accession, regional, or research funds like those under Horizon Europe. In the Western Balkans, there’s a dual need: building the capacity of administrations, innovation agencies, and similar institutions, while also attracting investment from the private sector.
Achieving this requires creating an ecosystem that is not only functional but also appealing to investors.
You mentioned that the EIT has a €3 billion budget for seven years. What progress has been made so far in attracting additional public and private funding, and how does this contribute to EIT’s goals?
Of that €3 billion, about €1 billion has already been invested in countries with lower innovation capacities, including some in the Western Balkans. While this is a good start, we want to significantly increase these figures in the coming years. One way we’re doing this is by leveraging new opportunities, such as the mandate we’ve received from the European Commission to run skills academies in key areas like batteries, solar energy, advanced materials, and raw materials.
These programs are designed to train talent and close the skills gap, which is critical for strengthening innovation ecosystems.
For countries in the Western Balkans, this represents a major opportunity. By signing a memorandum of cooperation with our Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs), they can access these training programs and ensure their local workforce is equipped with cutting-edge skills.
The European Commission and the EIT run several projects focused on specific areas, like raw materials. Can you share some recent success stories from these programs or other EIT-supported initiatives?
Some of these newer initiatives, like the raw materials academy, are just getting started, but we already have numerous success stories from EIT’s broader activities over the past 15 years. For instance,
the EIT has supported over 10,000 startups, nine of which have become unicorns—companies valued at over €1 billion.
One notable example is Verkor, a French battery company that received early support from the EIT. Recently, Verkor secured significant investment to build a gigafactory for advanced batteries in Dunkirk, creating jobs and accelerating Europe’s green transition. Success stories like this highlight the value of EIT’s early-stage support in driving innovation and economic growth.
The Draghi report highlights the importance of creating a Capital Markets Union to facilitate cross-border investments and make it easier for startups to access funding. How would this help strengthen Europe’s innovation ecosystem?
The CMU is a critical framework condition for Europe’s innovation ecosystem.
Easier capital movement would enable more cross-border investment in startups and innovative companies, strengthening Europe’s competitiveness. While this is not something the EIT works on directly, the completion of the Single Market and initiatives like the CMU are vital for creating an environment where innovation can thrive.
These structural improvements are key recommendations of the Draghi report and will be essential for Europe’s long-term success.
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Publish date : 2024-12-12 02:45:00
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