European research ministers have encouraged the European Commission to take action in a number of areas to create a favourable ecosystem for startups and scaleups, adopting conclusions on the importance of research and innovation in the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy on Tuesday 30 September (see EUROPE 13672/3).
“The text emphasises (...) the importance of a holistic approach to support, attract and retain startups and scaleups in Europe”, explained Christina Egelund, Danish Minister for Higher Education and Science, during the public debate.
To this end, the Member States have encouraged the European Commission to take action in areas such as developing legal definitions for ‘startup’, ‘scaleup’, ‘mid-caps’, ‘innovative companies’ and ‘undertakings in difficulty’, as well as reducing administrative and economic burdens for these companies. They also invited the European Commission to propose solutions within the existing legislative framework and to provide guidance on the implementation of the current state aid rules related to higher education institutions and research-performing organisations.
Jozef Viskupič (Renew Europe, Slovakian), President of the autonomous region of Trnava and rapporteur on the text for the EU Committee of the Regions, welcomed the EU Council’s recognition of the role of the regions in startup policy and ecosystems. “However, the European Commission should more fully acknowledge the contribution of regional innovation ecosystems in bringing together partners and stakeholders and in combining available funds to foster startups and scaleups”, he added.
In addition, at a press conference, Mrs Egelund responded to the concerns of European university associations regarding the funding of basic research (see EUROPE 13719/10). “There’s no contradiction in either investing in fundamental research or at the very end of the value chain. But I think it’s also fair to say that like Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta and others have clearly stated, we are lacking behind in Europe when it comes to bringing innovation to market and keeping in mind an attractive risk-weighted capital and investment. So, there is a lot to be done there”.
Read the conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/ioz (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)