Overarching innovation agenda under fire

Commission warned tackling regional innovation divides and supporting world-class ecosystems should be separate tasks

A European Commission proposal for an overarching EU innovation agenda has come under fire from university groups and venture capitalists for appearing to try to solve all of the bloc’s innovation problems with a single set of ill-suited actions.

The Commission opened a consultation on the planned agenda on 12 April, saying it would aim to address “bottlenecks” in the EU’s innovation landscape, such as access to finance and the “innovation gap” between different regions. The agenda will bring together policies, investments and instruments “to drive systemic change and deliver impact”, it said.