On 6 February, the EIC Forum Plenary held their first meeting of 2025. At the top of the agenda was the presentation of their yearly report the EIC Forum Policy Orientations to the Director-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission Marc Lemaître.
Mr Lemaître welcomed the report and presented the Competitiveness Compass, the first major initiative of this mandate providing a strategic and clear framework to steer the Commission's work. He stressed how the Compass translates the President’s commitment to put research and innovation at the heart of Europe’s competitiveness agenda. He noted that the recommendations of the Policy Orientations will inform the preparation of upcoming initiatives, such as the Startup and Scaleup Strategy and the European Innovation Act.
The recommendations highlight the need to strengthen and unify Europe’s startup ecosystem, improve venture capital availability, and create cohesive tax incentives. These are in line with the aims of the Startup and Scaleup strategy and future Innovation Act to simplify and streamline the regulatory framework, facilitating access to capital, and supporting innovative companies in testing new solutions and technologies. In the area of innovation procurement, they call for the removal of legal obstacles, especially for startups and SMEs, and encourage greater financial incentives. This supports what President von der Leyen calls the '28th regime': corporate law, insolvency, labour law, taxation – one single and simple framework across the European Union. The Policy Orientations also advocate the development of a coherent framework with uniform standards on the scope of employee stock option regimes.
Background
The EIC Forum was created on 10 May 2021 to promote the coordination and dialogue on the development of the Union’s innovation ecosystem. It is composed of Member States’ and Associated Countries’ representatives of public authorities and bodies in charge of innovation policy and programmes.
The work of the Plenary is supported by five working groups, which meet regularly to discuss, respectively:
- Innovation policy
- Innovation procurement
- Employee stock options
- the Plug-in scheme for the EIC accelerator
- the EIC Prizes Alumni network
Towards the end of each year, the EIC Forum publishes its Policy Orientations, reflecting the outcome and the recommendations resulting from the year’s discussions. The Policy Orientations shape the innovation policy initiatives of the Commission and are also a useful reference point for national innovation authorities in Member States and Associated Countries.
More information
Details
- Publication date
- 7 February 2025
- Author
- Directorate-General for Research and Innovation