The European Commission has officially launched a call for evidence and an open public consultation, inviting stakeholders from across the EU to contribute ideas and feedback for the upcoming European Innovation Act.
This major legislative initiative, open until 30 September 2025, aims to create a more cohesive and innovation-friendly environment across the bloc, giving startups, researchers, and investors the tools they need to thrive in a competitive global market.
Hosted on the Commission’s ‘Have Your Say’ portal, the initiative seeks input from industry experts, academia, entrepreneurs, and the public to co-design policies that better support innovation, market deployment, and business scale-up.
Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, highlighted the significance of the initiative: “We must create the best possible framework conditions for innovators, and give them the opportunities they need to choose Europe for developing their products and solutions, thriving in the Single Market and turning into global players.
“We want to hear from innovators, businesses, investors, policymakers, researchers, universities, and all interested parties to build an ambitious and effective innovation framework that will deliver real results.”
European Innovation Act: Driving innovation from lab to market
At its core, the European Innovation Act will address long-standing gaps in Europe’s innovation landscape.
Chief among them is the challenge of transforming cutting-edge research into successful commercial products. While Europe produces world-class science and research, too few breakthroughs reach the market.
The Act will promote stronger collaboration between industry and academia, streamline access to public and private finance, and enhance the role of intellectual property as a driver of innovation.
A key focus will also be improving the commercial use of publicly funded research outputs and boosting intellectual property registration, particularly patents.
Simplifying the innovation journey
To accelerate the growth of innovative companies within the EU, the European Innovation Act will aim to eliminate fragmentation across the Single Market.
Currently, entrepreneurs and startups must navigate 27 distinct legal systems. This complex landscape slows the scaling process and limits cross-border expansion.
To address this, the Commission is also exploring the creation of a 28th legal regime – a unified corporate framework that would harmonise rules on taxation, insolvency, labour law, and finance.
A proposal is expected in 2026, and consultations are already underway to assess the regulatory needs of innovative firms.
Enabling access to capital, talent, and infrastructure
Among other strategic priorities, the European Innovation Act will support better access to:
- Innovation-friendly procurement systems
- Advanced testing facilities and regulatory sandboxes
- Skilled talent and employee ownership schemes
- National and EU-wide funding streams, particularly for deep-tech and capital-intensive sectors
It also seeks to encourage the use of intellectual property as collateral, making it easier for innovators to secure investment based on their intangible assets.
Building Europe into an innovation powerhouse
As a central pillar of the EU Startup and Scale-up Strategy, the European Innovation Act represents a bold move to turn Europe’s research excellence into global leadership in innovation.
By aligning national and EU-level efforts and cutting through red tape, the Act promises to empower innovators to grow, scale, and succeed within Europe and beyond.
Stakeholders across all sectors are encouraged to participate in the consultation and help shape a future-ready Europe powered by innovation.
