European Commission Launches Ambitious Strategy to Strengthen Europe’s Research and Technology Infrastructures
Brussels, September 15, 2025 — The European Commission has unveiled a comprehensive new strategy aimed at reinforcing Europe’s research and technology infrastructures to maintain and advance its position as a global leader in scientific excellence and technological innovation. This initiative seeks to substantially boost Europe’s competitiveness by enhancing the availability, integration, and accessibility of cutting-edge research facilities and services across the continent.
Securing Europe’s Leadership in Science and Innovation
To stay at the forefront of international science and innovation, the Commission recognizes the critical need to upgrade and expand Europe’s research and technology infrastructures—spanning world-class laboratories, pilot production lines, advanced equipment such as particle accelerators and clean rooms, and state-of-the-art digital tools. These infrastructures are described as the backbone of Europe’s research and innovation ecosystem, supporting the entire innovation cycle from fundamental scientific research to market-ready technologies.
By improving access and fostering integration across these facilities, the strategy aims to facilitate breakthroughs in science and accelerate the development and societal uptake of innovative technologies. This will not only improve Europe’s industrial competitiveness but also enhance its technological sovereignty.
Key Pillars of the Strategy
The strategy outlines targeted actions across five core areas:
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Strengthening the Ecosystem: Increasing capacities and mobilizing investments to better align research infrastructures with the evolving needs of users. This includes leveraging digitalization and artificial intelligence to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of infrastructures.
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Simplifying Access: Establishing a continuum of complementary services for researchers and innovative companies—including startups and scale-ups—across the EU. This will support technology development, validation, and testing, thereby speeding the journey from laboratory discoveries to market applications.
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Attracting and Cultivating Talent: Building strong career pathways across all levels of research infrastructure professions, from technical staff to scientific leaders. The strategy emphasizes skill development and international talent attraction under the ‘Choose Europe’ initiative, to draw world-class researchers and innovators to the continent.
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Improving Governance: Streamlining and enhancing governance frameworks to enable more effective long-term investment decisions and to better align priorities among Member States and stakeholders. The Commission will also strengthen coordination across various funding sources to maximize the impact of public investments.
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Enhancing International Cooperation and Resilience: Promoting collaboration with strategic global partners to address shared societal challenges and supporting the integration of candidate and associated countries into the European Research Area. The strategy also plans to address risks related to critical data and facilities access, underlining the importance of the EU’s sovereignty in critical technologies.
Background and Context
The importance of research and technology infrastructures has been highlighted in key recent reports such as the Draghi report on “The Future of EU Competitiveness” and the Commission Expert Group’s “Align, Act, Accelerate” interim evaluation of Horizon Europe. These infrastructures underpin what has been termed the “fifth freedom” – the free movement of research, innovation, and knowledge across the EU.
The strategy ties into several EU policy initiatives, including the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy, the forthcoming AI in Science Strategy, the European Innovation Act, and the European Research Area Act, creating a unified approach to boost Europe’s research and innovation landscape.
Consultative Process and Next Steps
The development of this strategy followed an extensive consultation process involving public calls for evidence and numerous conferences and events that engaged scientists, industry experts, policymakers, and other stakeholders. The European Commission is set to work closely with Member States, research organizations, and industry partners to implement the outlined measures rapidly.
By making Europe’s research and technology infrastructures more robust, accessible, and interconnected, the Commission envisions a future where the continent can confidently lead in frontier science and breakthrough innovations that contribute to societal progress and economic prosperity.
Sources: European Commission, PubAffairs Bruxelles
