The new European research and innovation agenda - according to the Commission - presents a series of concrete actions aimed at strengthening Europe's innovation capacity and guaranteeing lasting prosperity. The Commission invites EU leaders to discuss suggested actions and to define a strategic orientation for their implementation: ensuring that regulation and funding are conducive to innovation; placing itself at the forefront of market-driven innovation through the establishment of the European Innovation Council; launching research and innovation missions at EU level.

Actions proposed by the Commission to EU Leaders are:

1. Horizon Europe – Swiftly adopting the next Multiannual Financial Framework with the proposed innovation funding [Horizon Europe, nda] to ensure that research and innovation continues to be one of the essential EU policies and funding priorities in the future, across different budgetary instruments.

2. 3% GDP in R&I – Member States taking the necessary steps to maximise their investments in research and innovation to reach the 3% of Gross Domestic Product target.

3. Private investments in R&I – Increasing private investment in research and innovation and scale-up initiatives such as the VentureEU initiative to boost private investment and patient capital.

4. Regulatory frameworks – Building future proof EU and national regulatory frameworks by applying the innovation principle, ensuring that whenever policy and legislation are reviewed, developed or implemented, the impact on innovation is fully assessed.

5. Directive on preventing restructuring framework – Giving priority to the transposition of the Directive on preventing restructuring frameworks, second chances and measures to increase the efficiency of restructuring, insolvency and discharge procedures.

6. State aid rules – Further simplifying state aid rules to facilitate the seamless combination of different funds and the better use of common assessment standards for research and innovation projects.

7. EIC – Establishing a European Innovation Council to identify and scale up breakthrough and disruptive innovation, focusing on fast moving, high-risk innovations that have a strong potential to create entirely new markets.

8. Missions – Launching a set of European research and innovation missions with bold, ambitious goals and strong European added value.

9. Synergies with ESIF – Using European Structural and Investment Funds to bring the regions into the innovation economy. Smart Specialisation Strategies should be strengthened and streamlined to enable interregional innovation support. Synergies should be created, with the Horizon Europe programme, InvestEU Fund, the European Social Fund, the Erasmus+ Programme, the Digital Europe Programme, the Common Agricultural Policy and other programmes.

10. Open Science – Contributing to the modernisation of Universities and public research organisations with an Open Science label.