The European Commission’s recent Strategic Approach to Research and Innovation, and the European Innovation Act mark an important step in strengthening Europe’s competitiveness, resilience, and sustainability through innovation.
For the food and drink industry, Europe’s largest manufacturing sector, the recognition of food technology and food-chain resilience provides a strong foundation for future agri-food research priorities under Horizon Europe 2028-2034 and the European Competitiveness Fund. The proposed Innovation Act will further support this ambition by improving conditions for innovation financing, intellectual property valorisation and market uptake.
“Europe has an excellent research base, but our competitiveness increasingly depends on our ability to turn research into solutions that companies can test, invest in, scale and deploy,” said Dirk Jacobs, Director General of FoodDrinkEurope. “The European Innovation Act will help close this gap, by strengthening R&D procurement and improving the commercialisation and financing of innovation. As the proposal moves through the legislative process, it will be important to ensure that the new framework is accessible to companies of all sizes and support innovation across Europe’s industrial base, including the food and drink sector.”
A stronger focus on innovation uptake, commercialisation, higher technology readiness levels and industrial deployment will help bridge the gap between research and market application, ensuring that promising solutions can scale more effectively across the European economy.
Together, these initiatives can accelerate the deployment of innovative solutions, strengthen collaboration across the innovation ecosystem, and enhance the competitiveness, resilience and sustainability of Europe’s food and drink sector.
