The Commission wants to open public procurement and research infrastructures for European startups.

The European Innovation Act aims to provide innovative companies with easier access to public contracts, testing infrastructures, and simpler rules for licensing intellectual property, stated European Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva at the meeting of research ministers in Dublin.

The European Commission is preparing new measures so that startups and innovative companies can more easily obtain public contracts, test technologies in European research infrastructures, and negotiate the use of intellectual property developed in universities more quickly. The European Commissioner for startups, research, and innovation, Ekaterina Zaharieva, presented the future directions of the European Innovation Act at the informal meeting of research and innovation ministers held in Dublin from July 20-21.

In short
1. The future European Innovation Act will include measures through which public procurement will create a more accessible market for innovative products and services developed in Europe. The Commission estimates that public procurement represents approximately 15% of the European gross domestic product.

2. The Commission is preparing a European model for licensing academic intellectual property and the formation of spin-off companies from universities, so that negotiations between researchers, institutions, and investors become simpler and faster.

3. A new framework regarding access to research and technology infrastructures is expected to help especially startups and small companies to test, validate, and develop technologies before introducing them to the market.

4. The European Research Area Act, which the Commission intends to present in the autumn of 2026, will address barriers affecting the mobility of researchers, cross-border access to infrastructures, funding, and the development of scientific careers.

5. The discussions in Dublin were informal and did not produce a legislative position from the Council. They will inform the work of the Irish Presidency ahead of the formal meetings of research ministers scheduled for September and December.

Zaharieva stated that Europe produces world-class research but underutilizes discoveries in companies capable of growing and remaining in the European Union. "Europe does not lack ideas, as we all know, it does not lack talent. What we still need is to become much better at turning scientific breakthroughs into businesses that grow, create jobs, and remain in Europe," said the commissioner at a press conference held during the meeting.

The European Innovation Act is expected to also utilize the purchasing power of public administrations to create demand for new products and services. The commissioner indicated that public procurement represents approximately 15% of the European GDP, without presenting in Dublin the specific obligations that could be imposed on authorities or the timeline for adopting the proposal.

Access for new companies to public contracts is currently affected by complex procedures, administrative requirements, and the difficulty of demonstrating the performance of technologies that have not yet been used on a large scale. The Commission is already promoting procurement for innovation as a way for authorities to purchase solutions that are in development and can help small businesses find their first markets.

The second instrument presented by Zaharieva is a European model for licensing academic intellectual property and creating spin-offs, companies built around research developed in a university or institute. The document is expected to simplify negotiations regarding rights over technologies and the distribution of benefits, while maintaining the remuneration of researchers and innovators.

The commissioner did not specify whether the model will be mandatory or will function as a set of recommendations. The future European Innovation Act appears in the Commission's calendar for 2026, but the final form, legal basis, and timing of the presentation have not yet been publicly announced.

Companies are also expected to receive easier access to infrastructures where they can test and validate technologies. Zaharieva announced the preparation of a European book on access to research and technology infrastructures, aimed especially at startups and small enterprises. The measure could cover laboratories, testing facilities, and expensive equipment that young firms cannot build or finance on their own, but the conditions for access and the obligations of operators were not detailed at the press conference.

Funding remains another obstacle identified by the Commission. Zaharieva referred to the Scaleup Europe Fund, a fund of approximately 5 billion euros primarily supported by private investors, and the European Innovation Council Fund, which manages investments of approximately 7 billion euros. The Scaleup Europe Fund is designed for deep-tech companies that have reached a stage where they need significant capital for expansion, and EQT was selected in May 2026 to lead the development of the instrument. The first investments are expected in the autumn of this year.

2EU previously reported on the launch of the initiative, the selection of the fund manager, and the warnings from MEPs that market fragmentation and lack of capital continue to push some European companies towards funding from outside the EU. The statements from Dublin add details about the non-financial instruments that the Commission is preparing: public procurement, academic licensing, and access to infrastructures.

Ministers separately discussed the creation of a single market for knowledge, described as the fifth freedom of the single market, alongside the free movement of goods, services, capital, and people. The Irish Minister for further and higher education, research, innovation, and science, James Lawless, stated that barriers continue to limit the movement of researchers, knowledge, and technologies between states and between the academic environment and companies.

The European Research Area Act is the legislative instrument through which the Commission intends to address these issues. Zaharieva stated that the proposal will aim to increase investments in research and innovation, better coordination between European and national priorities, and protect the freedom of scientific research and gender equality. The Commission plans to present the act in the third quarter of 2026.

"Europe cannot compete unless knowledge can move as freely as goods, services, capital, and people, and Europe cannot lead unless we turn more of our excellent research into successful innovation," Zaharieva stated. She linked scientific freedom to the ability of researchers and universities to work without political interference, a principle that the Commission will include in the preparation of the future act regarding the European Research Area.

The Commission also adopted the work program of the European Research Council for 2027. The program sets the calls, budgets, schedule, and participation rules for the next year, and the first competition, Starting Grant 2027, opens on July 22, 2026. The new rules extend the periods in which researchers can apply for Starting and Consolidator grants and limit submissions to a single proposal within the same annual program.

The meeting in Dublin was organized by the Irish Presidency of the Council and brought together ministers responsible for research and innovation from member states, representatives of the Commission, and associated countries. The agenda focused on the contribution of research to the competitiveness, security, and prosperity of Europe and the implementation of the "One Europe, One Market" roadmap.

Informal meetings do not adopt legislation and do not establish the formal position of the Council. They allow ministers to compare options before negotiations take place in the official formations of the European Union Council. The Irish Presidency indicated that the discussions in Dublin will prepare for the formal COMPET Research meetings in September and December 2026.

The European Research Area has been pursuing for several years the reduction of fragmentation between national systems, but researchers continue to encounter different conditions for funding, careers, and access to infrastructures. The future European Research Area Act is expected to transform some of the cooperation objectives into a common legal framework. The exact content will be able to be evaluated after the Commission presents the proposal and will then need to be analyzed through the applicable legislative procedures.

The European Innovation Act is part of a broader package through which the Commission seeks to reduce the gap between European research and the commercial development of technologies. Already announced initiatives include the Scaleup Europe Fund and instruments of the European Innovation Council, but the rules regarding public procurement, academic licensing, and access to infrastructures remain under preparation.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/news-articles/comisia-vrea-sa-deschida-achizitiile-publice-si-infrastructurile-de-cercetare-startupurilor-europene