The European Commission enhances oversight of Innovation Council by restructuring its Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (RTD). This restructuring, effective from May, brought notable change. Overall, it shifted oversight of the European Innovation Council (EIC) funding program to the Directorate for the European Research Area and Innovation. This particular directorate is under the leadership of Anna Panagopoulou.
This restructuring recognizes the political importance of scaling up tech companies together with ensuring effective technology transfer from lab to market.
To support this vision, the EU plans to play a more active role in promoting company growth. Measures include improving access to finance for start-ups, simplifying listing rules for public stock exchanges, updating regulatory sandboxes, providing deep tech training for one million people, as well as introducing clearer innovation terminology and indicators.
In fact, the EIC has become a central element of the EU’s strategy to increase investments in advanced technologies and their scaling up. In the new structure, the Commission will directly oversee certain aspects of the EIC.
These changes suggest prioritizing deep tech investments in the upcoming EU research program succeeding Horizon Europe in 2028.
The Substantial Changes
A substantial portion, €7 billion is allocated to the Accelerator program, involving direct equity investments in start-ups. The budget directorate general raised concerns about the Commission’s expertise in due diligence for start-ups. Therefore, prompted by this, the European Commission enhances its oversight.
In response, fund manager AlterDomus, based in Luxembourg, will assume management of the Accelerator fund in September.
Michiel Scheffer, a former EU Committee of the Regions member, now leads the EIC board for stability.
In addition to the new EIC unit in Panagopoulou’s directorate, the Commission has established a joint unit for research infrastructures and open science. Furthermore, two advisers have been appointed to focus on research careers and access to finance for innovation.
These changes within Panagopoulou’s directorate follow the recent appointment of Marc Lemaitre as director general of RTD. Sources indicate Lemaitre engaged with staff since February, preparing to realign roles at RTD with his vision.
At EuGrantMe, we are passionate about fostering innovation and empowering ambitious minds to flourish. Our mission revolves around providing top-notch grant writing services for the EIC Accelerator and Horizon grants in Europe, enabling our customers to unlock the full potential of their groundbreaking ideas.
Do you have a project to turn into reality?